PokeWing Z: Dimension Rifters: Future Shock
by Kuwabara Shizuru
Summary: The first PokeWing Z: Dimension Rifters movie is here! Ash must travel to the future to stop a new seemingly-invincible threat called the Time Anomaly, and figure out exactly what, or who, it is! Can he save what's left that's worth saving in the future? Rated M for swearing, yo.
1. Chapter 1

PokeWing Z, Dimension Rifters: the Movie, Chapter 1  
A special Dimension Rifters movie by Dustin M. Dixon, Caleb McGlone, and Rob Volzke

We own nobody in this movie aside from Riku, Wayne, and Janine. Everyone else belongs to their respective owners. With that said, on with the story!

* * *

Fade in. The location is Amity Park, seven years after the exploits of Ash and friends to bring about a peaceful world. While Amity Park had remained largely unchanged, there was one big difference. A statue of Ash Ketchum and his compatriots now stood in the town square for the sun to reflect on and, in a way, shine its light upon the saviors of the entire universe. As the statue seemed to glow in the sunlight, one man stood, admiring its beauty. This man wore a black trench coat, faded blue jeans, and a green long-sleeved shirt. His red hair no longer adorned his head, but rather his face, in the shape of a neatly-trimmed goatee. He looked down at the stump which used to be his right arm, then at the part of the statue which depicted his missing arm seven years ago…  
"Heh…did a lot of stupid things back then, that I did…" the man laughed. He turned and started to walk off, when the familiar form of Botan careened toward him from the sky.  
"Look out!" Botan shouted. The man just laughed again as he sidestepped the out-of-control ferry girl, holding up his left arm to stop her. As she crashed into it, the man instinctively drew his arm back toward himself, kind of trapping Botan in an embrace.  
"Uh…" Botan commented slowly.  
"Oh! Right, right." the man quickly released his grip on her, allowing her to her feet. "Sorry about that."  
"It's fine." Botan commented. "How's life without your right arm?"  
"About what can be expected." the man replied, pulling out a cigarette and sticking it in his mouth. Seconds later, he pulled his lighter out and proceeded to light up.  
"Those things'll kill you, ya know…" Botan commented, eliciting another laugh from the man. "What?"  
"Nothing…it's just…she said that to me too, seven years ago." the man chuckled as he took a drag from his cigarette.  
"Oh, sorry…didn't mean to dredge up any memories of the past…"  
"If it bothered me anymore, I wouldn't be laughing. Ash…changed me." he said, pondering what the last Kamoa was doing right at that moment.  
"He changed all of us, Wayne. You more than others, obviously." Botan let out a chuckle of her own.  
"Yeah, that's definitely true...but enough reminiscing for now. What brings you to Living World?" Wayne asked.  
"You guys have a new assignment from Enma." Botan handed Wayne an envelope, presumably containing the details of the assignment.  
"…" Wayne wordlessly took the envelope and read the contents. "…What?"  
"We don't know what it is exactly. Ash had one or two run-ins with it. Both ended in MASSIVE destruction." Botan hung her head.  
"Well…looks like we'll all be reuniting to fight this thing!" Wayne smirked. "Tell us where to shoot it and we'll have it dead in a matter of minutes…seconds, even."  
"Don't be so quick to dismiss it as another harmless enemy…after all, Ash had trouble keeping its rampage contained."  
"I wasn't dismissing it, just stating that we're nothing to sneeze at when combined."  
"…A valid point. You might want to go gather the others." Botan advised.  
"I'm already halfway th—" Wayne cut off as he disappeared in a flash of light, obviously a show of his immense physical speed, which had only grown in the seven years since he fought alongside Ash against the forces that sought to tear apart the Dimensional Universe.

* * *

"Borrrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiing…" the man sitting on the left side of the couch said, as he stared at the broken television. "Riku, did your daughter really have to blast it?"  
"Shut it, Fenton. My princess gets her way or the highway, capice?" Riku grumbled.  
"Well you're buying a new TV next time you get paid…" Danny's eyes narrowed in frustration.  
"Fine, whatever…" Riku sighed, then turned toward the door as he heard a knock. He stood up and walked over, opening the door to see Wayne standing there.  
"Huh…what're you doing here?" Riku asked.  
"New assignment from Enma. We're gonna head northwest and help Ash out against a new opponent." Wayne explained, a smirk on his face.  
"Did you say Ash?" Danny asked excitedly. "I've been waiting around on him to get his ass back here so I can show him how much better I've gotten!"  
"Well, we're gonna have to—" Wayne cut himself short, his eyes widening enormously as he did so. Riku's eyes also widened in that moment.  
"What's going on?" Danny looked confused.  
"Forget what I just said. Whatever we're fighting…it's HERE." Wayne said in horror.  
"Oh shit!" Danny shouted, leaping to his feet. The three of them raced outside immediately, looking around frantically for whatever this…thing was. Seconds later, they saw someone familiar dart by at breakneck speed. Though he'd gotten taller and his black hair had grown out, the man who just flew by them was definitely Ash. Before they could holler after him though, the three friends saw a black figure chasing after Ash. The figure had a vaguely humanoid shape, but absolutely no hair or any definable features. Without saying a word between each other, the three took off in the direction that the figure had chased Ash.

* * *

"Shit!" Ash shouted, as he blazed across the afternoon sky of Amity Park, trying to fly away from the thing which was chasing him. "I gotta get it in there…"  
"Ash~!" came Danny's shout, as he, Wayne, and Riku caught up to the last Kamoa. "Where the hell are you going? You never run away!"  
Ash wordlessly flew forward at a faster pace until he finally saw his destination below the five of them. Suddenly, he screeched to a stop, prompting his friends to do the same. He turned to catch sight of the being flying toward him. He finally acknowledged Danny.  
"Who said ANYTHING about running?! HEY UGLY-ASS!" he shouted. "FRESH MEAT DOWN THERE!" He then rocketed through the roof of FentonWorks and into the basement, the figure right behind him. He passed a very off-put Jack and Maddie, quickly shouting out "SorryaboutyourroofifIlivethroughthisI'llfixitfory a!"  
"Huh." Jack said, scratching his head at what just went on.  
As Ash approached the portal quickly, he was shocked to find the figure already standing there waiting for him. He screeched to a complete stop and gaped at the creature.  
"H…how…?!" Ash's eyes widened, as he touched down on ground and stepped back cautiously. The figure just grinned maliciously before letting out a scream and charging at Ash, before everything went black…

* * *

*Dare by Stan Bush*  
Fade in again, Amity Park in the present time: the year 2005. The specific location shown is the front doors of Casper High school. As the beginning 12 seconds of the song play, the image slowly zooms in until the front doors appear to be right in front of the viewer. At this point...

*Dare!*  
The doors flew open as our hero literally jumped for joy out into the free world.  
*Dare to believe you can survive!*  
As he hit the ground, Ash broke into an excited sprint.

*You hold the future in your hand!*  
Ash took another excited joy-jump as he let out a loud whoop.

*Dare! Dare to keep all your dreams alive!*  
As Ash reached the point where the walkway met the sidewalk, Jazz pulled up in her red convertible.

*The power is there at your command!*  
Jazz motioned for Ash to hop in, which he quickly obliged, hopping over her head and landing perfectly next to her in the passenger seat.

*Dare! Dare to keep all your love alive!*  
Jazz pulled off at top speed, driving away from Casper High and toward Condo Ketchum.

*Dare to be all that you can be! Dare! 'Cause there's a place where dreams survive! And it's powering you on to victory!*  
Jazz soon reached Condo Ketchum, stopping at the door as the song faded out.

* * *

"Spring Break at last…" Ash sighed contentedly. "A whole week of kicking back and relaxing has now arrived!"  
"You mean a week of nonstop searching for the Spirit Stone, right?" came Enma's voice as he showed up on the screen of Ash's communicator.  
"Can't hear you, I'm too busy taking it easy!" Ash plugged his ears with his index fingers.  
"Jasmine, please unplug his ears."  
"Yeah…not happening." Jazz said. "Look, he's had it rough, why not give him a week off? Besides, Wayne and Riku already figured out where it is."  
"How did…ASH! Did you TELL her about Wayne?!" Enma shouted.  
"Actually, Wayne kinda spoiled the whole surprise when he jumped off my roof to go fight Vexus last Thursday."  
"Oh wait…I remember him mentioning that now."  
"Why hide it, though? Did you think I couldn't keep it from Wayne that I knew he was the bad guy?" Jazz asked, anger evident in her voice.  
"No offense, Jazz…" Ash spoke up slowly. "…But you're a LOUSY liar. If I told you, you might have tried to lie to him…and he's a human lie detector. I didn't want to put you in danger, even if at the time I thought you were an annoying bitch."  
"Oh…" Jazz trailed off.  
"Well…" Enma looked deep in thought. "Considering the facts, perhaps you knowing now isn't a bad thing."  
"That's why I figured I'd go ahead and fill her in on all the details."  
"Hmm…" Enma stroked his chin, still looking lost in thought. "You know, Jasmine's right. You have busted a lot of ass recently. Take Spring Break off. I'll send Riku and Wayne to find the Spirit Stone."  
"Right, cool. Thanks boss!" Ash said enthusiastically. "So…what's the first thing I should d—" he was cut off by the loud, annoying voice of the Box Ghost shouting "BEWARE!"  
"…That, maybe?" Jazz pointed her thumb at the Box Ghost.  
"GOD DAMN IT." Ash grumbled, then hopped out of the convertible angrily. "HEY!" he shouted. "I'm gonna KICK YOUR ASS for dragging my mood down!"  
"Come and get some, my non-box-wielding opponent! Your LIGHTNING-shaped sword cannot defeat my boxes!" the Box Ghost shouted, throwing an empty cardboard box at Ash, who sliced it clean in half.  
"Hey, no fair! Save some for me, Ketchum!" Wayne shouted, suddenly running up and jumping into the fray, immediately kicking the Box Ghost in the chest.  
"OOF!" the Box Ghost shouted in pain as the force from Wayne's kick sent him flying off into the distance.  
"I SHALL RETURN TO PUT YOU ALL IN PINE BOXES!" he shouted, before disappearing as a twinkle on the horizon.  
"Good riddance." Ash brushed off his hands. "Thanks man. Saved me the trouble of owning his ass."  
"Yep." Was Wayne's simple response as he lifted his foot, examining his shoe. "Huh…it's gone."  
"What?" Ash asked.  
"There was a stain…I think it was leftover demon goo. It's not there anymore." Wayne said.  
"Weird…"

* * *

As the Box Ghost continued to fly backward, a portal suddenly opened up, and he landed on a hard green floor. Around him were various portals into Amity Park, presumably of different time periods, as one of them looked completely destroyed. As he gazed at them, he paid no mind to the tiny speck that fell from his overalls and onto the body floating in midair next to him…

* * *

As Ash Jazz, and Wayne conversed, suddenly, a ghost holding a scepter with a clock adorning the top appeared before them.  
"What the…?!" Ash said, assuming a defensive posture.  
"Ash Ketchum, I presume?" came the voice of the ghost, sounding calm.  
"Yeah, that's right. Who the hell are you?!" Ash asked.  
"My name is Clockwork…" the ghost said. "And I need to borrow you and your friends."  
"Danny told me about you briefly. Why do you need us?" Ash's eyes widened.  
"Because without you…your world, as well as every other world out there…will cease to exist."


	2. Chapter 2

PokeWing Z: Dimension Rifters, the Movie: Chapter 2

A special Dimension Rifters movie by Dustin M. Dixon, Caleb McGlone, and Rob Volzke

* * *

"Excuse me?" Ash looked incredulous. "In case you've not been paying attention, I've KINDA been working on that!"

"This is far more important than your quest to retrieve the Spirit Stone, Ash." Clockwork explained. "You see…it involves your future."

"What, do I turn evil like Dan?" Ash looked puzzled.

"No, you've turned out normal…but you're about to die."

"Okay, now I'm listening…WHAT?!" Jazz shouted.

"Ash Ketchum…seven years from now, you are fighting a malicious entity that can transcend time itself…"

"It can…transcend time?" It was Wayne's turn to look puzzled.

"It has all of the abilities you do…or rather, all of the abilities you WILL possess as a Kamoa."

"You know about my powers?!" Ash's eyes widened.

"You realized a small portion of your true potential the day you fought Danny Phantom's dark side."

"What do you…wait! Time seeming to stop around me and Jazz…"

"It didn't SEEM to stop. It DID stop. You have the power to control time itself, which is why Enma chose you for the mission you're on." Clockwork seemed to gaze past Ash. Jazz looked at the ghost quizzically. Was he looking at the same Ash she had been looking at a second ago, or was he staring into a different time?

"Your future, and the universe's future, are at stake here." Clockwork continued to explain. "Only your powers can stop this menace."

"If only my powers can stop it, then why did you choose this version of me?!" Ash asked, shocking Wayne and Jazz with the amount of thought he seemed to put into the question he had just asked. "Why not a future version of me who's already learned all the powers of the Kamoa?!"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you why. When this is all over, you'll know why I had to come back and choose you." Clockwork explained once more, as he changed from an infant to an adult. "I'm afraid we don't have the luxury of time. We have to leave now, as every second counts."

"Wait…one question." Wayne asked, lifting his head and gazing over at the Ghost of Time.

"Can't you ask it when we're there?" Clockwork sounded somewhat exasperated.

"It's just a quick question."

"Go ahead."

"Aren't the lot of us around to take care of whatever it is that's making everything suck?"

"Well…you'll find out when we get there." Clockwork said, shifting forms again, this time from an adult to an old man.

"Very well…Danny told me you helped him, so I don't have a reason not to trust you." Ash said. "Let's go to the future!"

"Just close your eyes and relax…" Clockwork explained. The three teenagers did as instructed, and seconds later, they found themselves off of the ground, floating toward a giant portal that had appeared in the sky. As they floated toward it, they saw the rest of their gang of friends being drawn out of their various locations, some less clothed than others…

"AAH! WHAT THE HELL?!" Danny shouted, covering himself to shield his private parts, then quickly going ghost to cover himself with his traditional hazmat suit.

"That was more of my brother than I ever wanted to see…" Jazz cracked, as they flew into the portal.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the future, Ash stared down the figure, his Rift Sword drawn and ready to perform a Spirit Slash. The figure let out a dry laugh before lunging at him again. As it did, however, Ash made sure to give it a face full of Spirit Slash. The figure was sent flying backward, but as the dust cleared, it was revealed to be completely unharmed. Regardless of this fact, it shrieked and pointed its right finger at Ash, whose eyes widened enormously as he realized what it was about to do. Before he could react, however, the figure wordlessly sent him flying with a Spirit Gun. As he flew back, though, he flew into several people who had just appeared out of nowhere…

"Wha—OOF!" Ash gave out a cry of pain as someone flew back into him.

"Watch where you're…huh?!" he had started to say, but cut himself off when he realized who he was talking to.

"What…what is this?!" came the older Ketchum's question of disbelief as he stared the past version of him down.

"You're…me!"Ash said, in shock, then offered his hand out to shake.

"…Did I start smoking marijuana when no one else was looking?" the older Ketchum said, after a few minutes of silence, then shakily reached out his hand.


	3. Chapter 3

PokeWing Z: Dimension Rifters, the Movie: Chapter 3

A special Dimension Rifters movie by Dustin Dixon, Caleb McGlone, and Rob Volzke

* * *

"OH GOD, ONE OF YOU WAS BAD ENOUGH!" Jenny threw up her arms in exasperation.

"What?" both Ketchums looked offended.

"You're not on marijuana, you never WERE on marijuana, and Robot Jesus Christ help me, if you EVER get on marijuana, I will PLAY DEAD ALL OVER YOUR FACES!" Jenny shouted.

"This is all well and good and all..." Jazz stated. "...But aren't you forgetting something?" As if on cue, the figure who had accidentally introduced the older Ash to his past self screeched angrily.

"OH SH-" Older Ash started, but was cut off as the figure lunged again. Ash grabbed Jazz quickly, and the gang of would-be heroes barely jumped out of the way in time for Older Ash to retaliate with a sucker punch to the figure's face, sending it back toward the Fenton Ghost Portal.

"Now's my chance!" he shouted, leaping for the new remote control to close the portal. However, the figure stopped itself dead in its tracks before hitting the inside of the strange, swirling vortex. It then surprised the entire group with what it did next.

"...Fo...ol..."

"It spoke?!" Older Ash exclaimed.

"I...I am..."

"What?" he asked. "You are what?" Instead of answering, the creature screeched and pointed once again at Older Ash.

"Never mind. You're DEAD." he said, bringing his Rift Sword to his side once more. The figure hissed at him, making yet another lunge, and being greeted once again with a Spirit Slash to its face. It flew backward into the portal this time. Ash wasted no time in grabbing the remote that his future self had rushed for seconds ago. He quickly pressed the button, sealing the portal.

"YES! Thank god for me!" Older Ash shouted in glee.

"Thank god for WHO?" Ash said, crossing his arms.

"You're me, right? It's still valid."

"Well, you got a bit of an ego on you... looks like nothing's changed from our time." Wayne huffed.

"Hey!" Ash countered. "I was doing that to fuck with you!"

"Oh GOOD... I was looking forward to hearing pointless bickering in the future today." Riku said, breaking the silence among the remaining heroes, who all hastily agreed.

"So...future saved? What were we all needed here for again?" Danny said, shrugging. "Not that I get why the rest of us were dragged here in the first place, bu-" Before he could finish, however, he was cut off by the sound of screeching metal, as the Fenton portal began to reopen on its own... or so it appeared.

"What in the f-" Danny started again, cutting himself off as it was revealed that the figure was prying open the doors. For the first time, two things remotely resembling eyes were visible. The two eyes on the figure were glowing bright red, and the creature was screaming as it pulled the doors open long enough to rush through them as they slammed shut again behind it.

"FO~OL!" it screamed, almost in a sing-song voice as it charged Ash, who could only throw up his arms and brace for impact. The impact was as everyone feared: the figure had slammed Ash back into the wall, where it threw back its right hand, allowing a blue ball of energy to form in its hands. It fired upon Ash, creating a large crater in the wall, where the hero now lay, unconscious.

"ASH!" Jazz screamed, and at that moment, Danny, Jenny, Yusuke, and Riku had launched into a full assault.

"CROSS FORMATION!" Riku shouted. In that same instant, he punched the figure in the stomach, causing it to fly backwards. In that same instant, Jenny appeared behind it and did a powerful sweeping swat with her right arm, knocking it toward Danny. As it reached Danny, he shot it toward Yusuke with an ectoplasmic energy bolt. Finally, Yusuke pelted it with a Spirit Gun Double, knocking it back toward Danny, who simply stepped out of the way with a smirk. Older Ash waited behind him, instantly blasting it with a Spirit Shotgun, which caused it to let out a shriek, seeming to disappear as it did so. The gang stared in complete shock.

"So..." Wayne spoke, after a few minutes of shared silence. "...Why were the rest of us needed?" However, his question went unanswered, as the rest of the gang had gathered around Ash.

"Hey man, wake up!" Yusuke called out.

"Come on, Ash!" Jenny pleaded.

"You have to get up!" Jazz said, panic in her voice.

"Of course..." Wayne said, his eyes narrowing in boredom. "Let's all gather around the 'dying' hero."

"Can't you see he's in pain?!" Jenny shouted at what she viewed as an insensitive bastard.

"Yeah, hey...about that. He's gonna be fine." Wayne pointed out.

"And you know this HOW?!" Yusuke challenged. Wayne stared at the "camera" blanky for a second before grabbing Older Ash and wheeling him over.

"See anything wrong with HIM?" Wayne pointed out to the gang.

"Uh...oh yeah." Yusuke said, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

"So the fact that Ash's future self is fine means we shouldn't worry about him NOW?!" Jazz argued. "What kind of logic IS that?!"

"That's the 'I don't give a crap about Ketchum's health right now if he's fine in the future' kind of logic." Wayne sighed.

"God..." Older Ash said, after another few minutes of shared silence. "I forgot how much of a dick you were seven years ago."

"And?" was Wayne's simple response.

"Nothing..."

"Wait...what?" Wayne looked stunned.

"Uh...uhh..." Ash moaned, rousing slowly to consciousness.

"Dude...are you alright?" Danny asked.

"Where's that...thing?" Ash suddenly shot up, looking around frantically.

"Your future self just completely VAPORIZED it!" Jazz said, still in shock.

"No...it's still gotta be here..." Ash said. "Why would we be here if the future didn't need us? Clockwork said this thing could wipe out entire time periods if it wanted...but...something's not right."

"What do you mean?" Jazz asked.

"I don't know why...but it didn't finish me off when it had the opportunity."

"That might be cause we played hero while you were knocked out." Danny bragged.

"No! You don't get it! Clockwork said I was needed specifically! WHY would he say I was needed if my future self could've EASILY defeated this thing?!"

"...Moral support? A distraction? Just throwing those out." Wayne grumbled.

"NO! Clockwork said I'd find out why I was needed! You were there, Wayne!" Ash said, sweeping his arms out in frustration.

"Okay, let's assume the Ghost of Time isn't a cryptic practical joker douchebag!" Wayne argued. "Let's assume you're here for an actual purpose. Now let's assume that this...THING is still alive. Why hasn't it attacked us again yet? Doesn't seem like it's a rabid follower of Sun Tzu's Art of War...you saw the thing. Intelligent isn't a word I'd use to describe it..."

"Ash has a point." Jazz suddenly spoke up.

"You waited to speak up until AFTER my rant?!" Wayne shouted. "Very well. What's his point?!"

"The thing could have easily killed him. Why didn't it?" Jazz asked. "All of this is very weird...it's like that thing KNEW Ash..."

"Did it...?" Older Ash suddenly questioned, walking away from the group, looking confused. Suddenly, he turned around, asking one question that sounded simple, but shocked everybody.

"...What day is it?"

"What day is- WHY THE HELL WOULD THAT MATTER?!" Wayne shouted.

"Calm down, Wayne." Riku ordered.

"I'm serious...what day is it?"

"It's..." Danny trailed off, looking over at the conveniently-located calendar and reading off the date. "...March 19th, 2012."

"It can't be..." Older Ash looked shocked. "It can't be March 19th."

"Why?" Ash asked, his eyebrows arching.

"It was March 19th last week...! That was the day this thing started showing up...the Time Anomaly!" As Older Ash finished speaking, a beam of pure red energy burst through the ceiling and rained down upon Yusuke, completely enveloping him. When the beam dissipated, Yusuke lay in the floor, still whole, but all the color had drained from his body, leaving him a colorless body lying on the floor. Ash's eyes widened enormously as he crawled over to his former teacher and shook him, receiving no response.

"Yusuke...?!" Ash gazed on in horror. "YUSUKE-!"

"Oh my god, is he...?!" Jazz looked absolutely horrified.

"Urameshi...?!" Wayne also looked shocked.

"Oh god...it's happened again!" Older Ash shouted. "The Time Anomaly did this to the townspeople in Bloomsberg right before...!"

Suddenly, the now-identified Time Anomaly appeared again, a mouth forming on its normally featureless face and twisting into a wicked grin.

"DIE." It spoke, before firing another beam similar to the one that hit Yusuke. Jenny barely managed to dodge out of the way of this attack.

"Wait!" Ash shouted. "You didn't want to kill me earlier...why?! What are you?!"

"DIE!" the Time Anomaly repeated, shooting yet another red energy beam at Ash, who dodged out of the way.

"WHO are you?!" Ash tried to stare down the being, but it avoided his gaze.

"DIE-!" it screeched, firing a Spirit Gun at Danny, who went intangible, allowing the energy to pass harmlessly through him and hit the doors to the Fenton portal, completely destroying it.

"...FUCK!" Older Ash shouted.

"HOLY SHIT!" Danny repeated the sentiment.

"OH MY GOD!" Jazz screamed.

"Uh...uh...shucky-darns?" Wayne said, his brows furrowing in frustration. The Time Anomaly simply laughed, two balls of blue energy forming in its hands as it fired them at Ash. Ash dodged out of the way just in time to avoid being completely obliterated, as evidenced by the complete destruction of the walls behind the ghost portal.

"DIE~!" the Time Anomaly roared.

"We GET it, you want to kill everything!" Wayne shouted angrily. "Shut the hell up already!"

"No...YOU..." it said, almost seeming as if it were countering Wayne.

"Bitch, I'm about to show you at least THREE kinds of pain!"

"Good, means you're actually gonna do something." Riku said, seemingly from the background.

"SHUT IT, RIKU!" Wayne roared, turning around.

"Uh...FIGHT? Do you have the memory of a goldfish?!" Riku countered.

"Oh ye—WOAH!" Wayne just barely managed to dodge a punch from the Time Anomaly, countering with a right hook immediately, and showing extreme surprise when the Time Anomaly's face split apart and reformed around Wayne's hand.

"What in the…?!" Wayne looked horrified.

"DIE." it screeched again. "YOU DIE." It shot a Spirit Gun at Wayne point blank, sending him flying backwards into the same crater it had made just minutes ago, dragging the apparition with him. As they impacted, the Time Anomaly unleashed a furious barrage of punches to Wayne's chest, face, and even a few in the proverbial 'daddy zone'.

"C'mon Wayne, you can do better than that!" Riku shouted.

"Uh…shouldn't we HELP him?!" Danny pointed out to the tallest member of the group.

"…Fuck, I suppose we should." Riku then quickly charged a Fist of the Mortal Flame.

"Hey…you! Time Anomaly!" he shouted. "You have about three seconds to live! Use them wisely!" He then launched his attack straight at the being, only to feel a combination of shock and horror when it spun around a hundred and eighty degrees, allowing Wayne to feel the full force of the attack. As Wayne dropped to his knees, Riku called out to his former master/friend.

"Oh shit! I didn't mean to nail you!" Riku said, before the Time Anomaly stood and actually jerked Wayne off of the wall and sent him flying into his comrade.

"Damn…" Wayne gasped. "Maybe this thing DID read the Art of War…"

"Then maybe it knows a few moves we don't." Riku muttered.

"Gee…ya THINK?! What was your first clue, the thing EATING MY HAND?!"

"Individually, we fall to this thing like flies…we have to tackle it together!"

"You guys DID that already, remember? I'm sure Ketchum's future self has WAY more power than he's letting on currently, so if HE can't take it out, neither can we." Wayne grimly pointed out.

"So you want us to just give up and die?!" Riku argued.

"HELL no! I'm just saying we need to fight smarter, not harder!" Wayne smirked.

"Hell of an idea…HELL of an idea." Riku returned the smirk. "So…how do we do it?"

"Hey, you!" Wayne motioned to Older Ash, who quickly walked over.

"What?"

"You mentioned a town called Bloomsberg earlier. Why did you fight it there? And if I'm not mistaken, were you trying to lure it into the Ghost Zone?"

"It first showed up there last week. After a quick battle, it vanished. It then showed up today and destroyed the entire town. As for your second question, I figured it couldn't harm anyone HERE if it was in THERE, so I sent an S.O.S. to Enma and had the thing chase me to Amity Park."

"Sorry to interrupt you guys' powwow, but the Time Anomaly vanished again." Ash said. "Now answer me this…what the hell happened to my friend?!"

"OUR friend." Older Ash corrected.

"WHATEVER! Is he DEAD?!" Ash shouted.

"Never stopped him before. Come to think of it, didn't stop us before either." Older Ash mused. "Anyway, I don't know for sure, but…dead people don't turn gray. That's the first time I saw it do that attack."

"How many times have you fought this thing?"

"It's either my second or third fight with it, depending on whether or not you count my fighting it here today separate from my fight with it in Bloomsberg earlier today."

"If Yusuke's not dead…then how do we reverse this…?" Jazz suddenly questioned, leaving the remaining six in silence.

"…Maybe there's an answer in Bloomsberg." Ash asked, shocking everyone.

"I doubt it…that town's DESTROYED…well, except for the hospital."

"I thought you said it destroyed the ENTIRE town!" Wayne interjected, leaving Older Ash looking confused.

"…Did I?"

"YES! YES YOU DID!" Wayne flew off the handle suddenly and unexpectedly. "HOW THE HELL DO YOU NOT REMEMBER?! YOU SAID IT THREE MINUTES AGO!"

"Calm down already, Wayne!" Riku said, slapping him across the face.

"…Thanks. I needed that." Wayne sighed. "We won't find anything out just standing around here. Let's go to Bloomsberg."

"Wait…aren't you afraid that thing will attack again?!" Jazz looked extremely worried.

"No…I don't feel its presence anymore." Older Ash said. "It must have retreated. I'll lead the way, let's go."

As the gang walked upstairs, Older Ash turned to Jack and Maddie.

"Sorry again for the hole, Mr. and Mrs. F." This caused Ash's right eyebrow to slant upward.

"Who…are you talking to?" Ash asked his future self.

"The Fentons. You know, the people who've lived here since we arrived in this dimension."

"Yeah, I KNOW who they are…uh…where are they, again?" Ash asked slowly. As Older Ash pointed out the location of the Fentons all smartass-like, Ash's eyes widened.

"Do you see them now? God, was I really that freaking blind as a kid?"

"Uh…future me…Ash…"

"What?!"

"…There's no one there."


	4. Chapter 4

PokeWing Z: Dimension Rifters, the Movie: Chapter 4

A special Dimension Rifters movie by Dustin Dixon, Caleb McGlone, and Rob Volzke

* * *

"What do you mean?! They're standing right there!" Older Ash pointed once again to where he saw Jack and Maddie sitting.

"I don't see them either." Jazz commented.

"How can this be…?" Older Ash looked down. "How did you guys get here anyway?"

"We were brought here by Clockwork." Ash explained.

"Clockwork…the Ghost of Time?"

"Yeah…what's going on here? Why are you seeing the Fentons? Why can't WE see them?"

"I…don't know…" Older Ash clutched his head with his right hand. "Why did Clockwork bring YOU here, specifically...?"

"He said I'd find out when everything's said and done. I wondered the same thing myself…"

"I've been back in time." Older Ash suddenly said. "…And nothing like THIS has happened before. I saw everything, I just couldn't interact with it. Same deal with me going AHEAD in time slightly…"

"Future me…uh…Ash…" Ash started to say, before he suddenly found himself staring down his own weapon: the Rift Sword.

"There's NO reason you shouldn't be able to see them, so I think you were sent here to fuck with me…" the future hero growled, refusing to lower the jagged golden blade even by an inch. "I didn't see Clockwork when you emerged. I don't think you're being honest. Who REALLY sent you?!" he pressed the tip of the sword against Ash's right cheek. "Was it Kensuke? Was this his last hurrah before he died?!"

"Wait…" Ash held up a hand. "Who the hell is Kensuke?!"

"You know who he is! The guy made it his life mission to ruin MY life!"

"NO, I DON'T. I have NO idea who you're talking about."

"Liar!" Older Ash's eyes narrowed as he scowled, pressing even harder. The sword tip cut into Ash's cheek, creating a small cut and drawing blood. To the older Ketchum's surprise, the same cut appeared on his face, blood and all.

"How can this be…?"

"Because it happened to me, it happened to you. Don't you see, Ash? This proves I'm telling the truth!"

"Huh…I imagine it does…" the older Ketchum trailed off, looking extremely lost in thought

"Hey, let me ask you something…" Ash looked at his future self. "…Who is this guy Kensuke?"

"He's…the only thing I can say about him is…well, he's our predecessor." Older Ash explained, causing everybody else's eyes to widen enormously.

"Predecessor?!" Jazz shouted. "You mean Ash ISN'T the world's first Spirit Detective?!"

"No. I don't recall Enma ever telling us we were the first. Where'd you get that idea."

"I dunno…" Ash said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Depending on whether you count each person as an individual Spirit Detective or part of his group, we were either the second Spirit Detective ever or the fifth."

"Tell me more…I have to know. Why was this guy Kensuke chosen?"

"I can't tell you. You'll probably find out soon enough anyway. If you're the age I THINK you are, then you'll be meeting him before the end of this year…"

"I'm fourteen. Well, fifteen in about three months."

"I know when your birthday is, seeing as it's MY birthday too." Older Ash rolled his eyes.

"Could we FOCUS here?!" Wayne shouted. "Let's get going already!"

"Right, right…" both Ketchums said quickly, as the group turned and walked out the front door. As they stepped outside, they gasped. Well, everyone aside from Older Ash gasped.

"What? What is it?" he asked

"Amity Park…it's…" Danny stammered.

"…It's in ruins…" Ash finished, wide-eyed, and as the "camera" panned out, it could be seen that Danny and Ash were telling the truth. The once-peaceful Amity Park now laid in ruins.

"How did this happen?!" Danny shouted.

"Okay, obviously you guys're seeing something I'm not. The place is FINE."

"You're the only one who doesn't see it…" Wayne commented, amazingly, showing a previously unseen level of shock himself. "Did the Time Anomaly hit here too?"

"What are you talking about?! The city's fine!" Older Ash defended.

"Okay, that's it! When the HELL did I turn psychotic?!" Ash threw up his arms. "I can understand seeing people that aren't there…KINDA. But this town is fucking wiped off the face of the earth, and you're pretending it's not! What the HELL gives here?!"

"I'm not pretending, and I'm NOT psychotic!" Older Ash shouted. "How can it be destroyed?! I'm looking RIGHT AT our old apartment building! It's FINE!"

"You're…you're off your rocker!" Ash pointed at his future self angrily. "You've fucking SNAPPED! What HAPPENED to you?!"

"What…happened…?" Older Ash repeated, looking extremely lost in thought. "What happened to us SUCKED…"

"What happened to us?" Ash asked. The older Ketchum looked away, his face obscured in shadow. The younger's eyes widened enormously with the next words that came out of the older's mouth.

"…We lost Jazz…"


	5. Chapter 5

PokeWing Z: Dimension Rifters, the Movie: Chapter 5

A special Dimension Rifters movie by Dustin Dixon, Caleb McGlone, and Rob Volzke.

* * *

"What the hell do you MEAN 'we lost Jazz'?" Ash grabbed his future self by the collar.

"What do you think I mean? She's DEAD." Older Ash explained.

"How…? How did I die?!" Jazz's eyes were as wide as they could be.

"..." Older Ash stared at her, creating an awkward silence between the group of heroes.

"…O…okay…" Jazz said, looking toward the Ash from her time.

"…I don't remember… why can't I remember?" Older Ash clutched his head with his left hand.

"Great. Ketchum's batshit insane in the future. Lovely to know that our world was left in the hands of a psychopath like him." Wayne's eyes narrowed in boredom.

"Look who's talking." Jenny spat back.

"I don't deny the psychopath part, but at least I can remember what I had for breakfast."

"Breakfast…? Yeah…it was morning…" Older Ash spoke up.

"Morning? What morning?" Jazz asked. "What morning did I die?!"

"It was…it was today. March 19th." Older Ash looked over at Jazz.

"Didn't you say that it was supposed to be today last week?!" Wayne interrupted the older man's train of thought.

"…Did I?"

"Oh FOR FUCK'S SAKE! NOT THIS SHIT AGAIN!" Wayne roared.

"IGNORE HIM." Danny said very loudly. "How did Jazz die?! Was it this Time Anomaly thing?!"

"…" Older Ash's look changed from confusion to anger. Danny's eyes widened and he quickly went intangible to avoid getting run through by the older Ketchum's Rift Sword.

"WOAH! WHAT THE **HELL**, MAN?!"

"…" Older Ash remained unresponsive as he reared back his right fist immediately.

"**SCATTER!**" was the younger Ketchum's only reply to the action his future self had just taken. He grabbed Jazz and ran out of the line of fire, as the other heroes did the same.

"SPIRIT SHOTGUN!" Older Ash shouted, letting loose a mighty blast that demolished what parts of Fentonworks hadn't been destroyed in the previous, mysterious carnage. He immediately turned to face Ash.

"You…we…have to die." was all Older Ash said, before turning his sword on his past self and charging him with a yell. Ash summoned his Rift Sword and just barely managed to block his future self from cleaving him in half.

"Why?! Why do we have to die?!" he shouted. "How is that gonna help anything?!"

"…" Older Ash remained silent as he tried to run Ash through with his own Rift Sword. Before he could, however, Danny grabbed Ash's shoulder and turned the both of them intangible. The two of them flew out of the way, but the older Ketchum wasn't deterred. He touched his left hand to the blade of the Rift Sword and then shocked everyone by firing a Devil Gun at Ash and Danny. It shocked everyone even more when it actually connected with them, sending them hurtling into the nearest debris, screaming and kicking up a cloud of dust. Older Ash walked over to where the dust cloud had formed, now having several scrapes and cuts aligning his face, and simply said "GET UP. I KNOW you're still alive in there, because I'm here!"

"If you know that…" came Ash's voice. "Then you also can imagine what I'm about to do."

"Of course. You're me. I know everything you know... including why we have to die."

"I know why we have to die…?" Ash wondered aloud.

"Is it just me…or did he get a LOT more coherent when he started fighting?" Riku asked, looking over at Wayne.

"He did…and that frightens me somewhat."

"…You've changed. You wouldn't admit to being afraid before."

"Maybe so. But now's not the time to talk about that."

"Wayne, Riku, isn't there something we can do?!" Jenny asked the two of them.

"Sure there is. We can TRY to fight him." Wayne observed. "But chances are he's WAY too strong to beat. Imagine Ash like he is right now, but with SEVEN YEARS worth of training under his belt."

"So then what do we do?"

"I'd say that cross formation you guys did earlier, but Yusuke's down and out, and so's the ghost kid for the time being." Wayne looked deep in thought. "And smart though she might be, Jazz is gonna be useless in a fight."

"Delta form could work." Riku said. "It only requires three people."

"Right…let's do it." Wayne's look changed from unsure to determined. He, Jenny, and Riku then surrounded Older Ash in a triangle pattern.

"Delta form…it won't work." Older Ash laughed, as Wayne led the attack, charging at the older man, who simply grabbed his throat and threw him into Ash. As Jenny and Riku closed in rapidly, he simply leaned back, grabbed them by the back of their heads, and slammed them into each other violently.

"Told you. I know every formation your mind has come up with in the past seven years, Riku." the older Ketchum looked down, clicking his tongue at the tallest member of the group of heroes.

"Yeah, maybe so…but there is something you forgot." Riku let out a weak chuckle.

"And that is…?"

"THIS!" came the voice of the younger Ketchum, causing the older to turn around in time to see his past self's Spirit Gun combine with Wayne's Devil Gun.

"IMMORTAL GUN!" the two shouted at the same time, as the blast connected with Older Ash, it sent him flying into the horizon with an ear-shattering scream of pain.

"Take THAT, you smug dick!" Wayne shouted after the older Ketchum, then turned to Ash. "Wow, you really grew up to be a douche." When Ash gaped ahead rather than answering, Wayne turned his head in time to be hefted up by the front of his shirt by the man they had just seemingly blasted into the stratosphere.

"H…HOW?!" HOW DID YOU GET BACK HERE SO QUICKLY?!" Wayne shouted.

"Idiot. I can fly at the speed of sound. Also…I told you there's nothing any of you can do to surprise me." Older Ash explained, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "Maybe you need to be taught a lesson just like my past self. Very well! Lesson one!" he punched Wayne in the stomach. "Do not fuck with me."

"I'll…take that into consideration…" Wayne gasped.

"Lesson two…assuming I let you return alive to the past, you're gonna have to be less reckless if you're trying to save our world…" Another blow to Wayne's stomach was made, this time with the older Ketchum's knee.

"And finally, lesson three…in order for the universe to work itself out the RIGHT way…" he paused, punching Ash in the face and flooring him. "He's gotta die."

"You'll commit pseudo-suicide to save the universe?!" Ash shouted, from his position on the ground. "You're NUTS!"

"Ash is right!" Jazz chimed in. "And why did you suddenly start attacking him when Danny asked about how I died?!" Older Ash turned around suddenly, a fist drawn back.

"You even THINK of hurting her, and it'll be the last mistake of your pathetic psycho life!" Ash threatened. "I've beaten things I had NO chance against in the past, there's no reason I can't beat the hell out of myself too!"

"Except that I have SEVEN YEARS of training that you don't."

"Oh yeah? You spend every day of that training?" Ash's eyes narrowed angrily. "Besides, it's not just me. ALL of us are fighting you."

"And all of you will FAIL. You don't get it…exactly how high is your Spirit Energy output right now again?"

"Two hundred and forty-five thousand. I doubt there's that much room for improvement in seven years."

"Believe me…there is."

"Oh yeah? And just how much have we improved?" Ash asked, his confidence starting to falter. It was utterly destroyed with the next words that came out of his future self's mouth…

"…I've reached an INFINITE amount of Spirit Energy output."


	6. Chapter 6

PokeWing Z: Dimension Rifters, the Movie: Chapter 6

A special Dimension Rifters movie by Dustin Dixon, Caleb McGlone, and Rob Volzke

* * *

"W…what do you mean, 'infinite'?!" Ash furrowed his brow, trying to figure out what indeed his future self had meant by that.

"What do you think I mean? You have limits. I DON'T." Older Ash gazed hatefully down at the younger version of him.

"How'd you break your limits?!"

"Kensuke pushed me one time too many and I broke them, killing him and wiping out a city in the process." Older Ash explained, looking down.

"You WIPED OUT A CITY?!" Jazz looked positively horrified.

"Yeah…and somewhere around 30,000 lives all ended that day." Older Ash set Wayne down roughly. "The city I destroyed was…"

"…Amity Park…" Ash finished grimly.

"That's why you've gone nuts…" Jazz realized. "You've been having psychotic breaks because you're unable to forgive yourself for what happened!"

"More like he's trying to pretend it never happened…" Danny said. "What you did was horrible…but unavoidable. If this Kensuke's as much of a dick as you say he is, there's a chance he would have done the same thing. You did what you had to in order to stop him."

"And in that very action…I BECAME Kensuke." Older Ash looked despondent.

"Look Ash…" the younger Ketchum said. "We don't have to die to save the future! We have the power to control TIME ITSELF!"

"What good is that power if you can't bring back the people you care about?!"

"It can! We can go back in time and undo what went wrong!"

"What part of 'CAN'T INTERVENE WITH THE PAST' didn't you get earlier?! I've ALREADY TRIED! It doesn't work! It never works!"

"No. There has to be a way! We could seek Clockwork's help!"

"I've done that too. Clockwork must have brought you here because he realized that the only way to keep this future from ever taking place is for us to die."

"No…if we die, who's gonna save the world up to this point?! You mean to tell me that you're not even willing to TRY to think of another solution now that I'm here?!"

"YOU mean to tell ME that this future is worth saving?!" Older Ash pointed out. "It wasn't just HERE that got completely destroyed! There may be a small handful of humanity scattered across the entire planet! Between my grief and the attacks the Time Anomaly have done to the various locales on our planet, there are MAYBE A HUNDRED people left! Tell me, is THAT the kind of future we were fighting for?!"

"No…" Ash said, looking down quickly, before meeting his future self's eyes again. "…But I didn't spend all that time away from home fighting for the lives of the people I love JUST to give them all up!"

"…"

"What happened SUCKED…but we can change it! The two of us. ...And if dying is the only way I can keep this from happening…" he trailed off as he climbed back onto his feet, looking over at his friends sadly, then back at the older Ketchum.. "...Then so be it." This elicited wide eyes from everybody present, including his future self. "Let's die, Ash."

"Ash…no!" Jazz said, running over and grabbing him by the shoulders, giving him a shake. "This is CRAZY talk! You can't DIE!"

"If it's for the good of our world…then I'll do anything to preserve peace."

"Ash…" Jenny walked up to the younger Ketchum, stood there wordlessly for a few seconds, and suddenly punched him in the face, flooring him again. "You son of a BITCH!"

"Jenny, what the hell?!" Ash shouted.

"Did you even think about ANY OF US?! Did you think about what would happen to your mom, your girlfriend, Jazz, or us if you died?! We love you!"

"Just for the record, she doesn't speak for all of us." Wayne chimed in.

"NOBODY ASKED YOU!" was Jenny's quick response.

"Okay, okay!" Wayne assumed a 'back off' stance. "Jesus Robot Christ, she's moody today."

"We've fought together for months no—"

"I know. You're the very first friend I've ever had…from another dimension, anyway."

"Right, right…anyway, all those times together meant something…to me. I started viewing you as something of a little brother to look out for."

"Are you sure that's all there is to it?" Wayne chimed in again.

"Again…NOBODY FUCKING ASKED YOU!" Jenny shouted, giving Wayne a look implying that he should immediately shut the hell up. Wayne wordlessly pointed at her as if saying "Proceed".

"And I kinda looked up to you as a big sister…even if we haven't always seen eye to eye." Ash looked down as he got back on his feet again. "That's why…that's why I have to do this. I don't want to be responsible for your deaths…" he summoned the Rift Sword into his right hand. Before he could move further though, he was shocked as Jazz locked her arms around his.

"Jazz…don't. Don't trouble yourself with me anymore."

"No! You may think life'll be better without you around, but I don't…"

"Jazz…"

"I don't want to live in a world without you in it!"

"You were fine before I came along. You'll be fine again. Forget about me."

"I can't…because…because…"

"…?"

"…Because I love you!" Jazz shouted, tightening her grip around him.

"Wha…?" the older Ketchum uttered.

"You heard me. I realized it after you'd left to find the Spirit Stone when Danny's future self attacked and kidnapped me."

"Did someone mention the ghost kid's future self…?" came a voice that shocked the lot of them. As they gazed up at the source of the voice, everyone aside from the older Ketchum gaped in disbelief, for there before them stood what looked like Dan Phantom himself. The only thing really different was that instead of his hair being flaming white, it was now flaming red.

"It…it CAN'T be!" Ash said, in absolute shock.

"What's with the dye job?" Wayne interrupted.

"Oh, that…look familiar? Kinda remind you of someone?" the creature looming over them spoke to Wayne with what sounded like a venomous tone.

"…!" Wayne's eyes widened enormously. "NO!"

"Yes…did you honestly think you'd seen the last of me?!" the creature, who Wayne apparently knew all too well, started to lower itself to the ground as it grinned evilly…a grin that Ash recognized all too well.

"No…you're not Dan Phantom…SHADOW WAYNE?!"

"Bingo."

"I knew he wasn't dead…" Riku grumbled, preparing one of his Spirit Katanas.

"You wanted to believe you'd rid yourself and the world of me…that you're some sort of hero…but you're still the same fool whose soul I took over for eight years! And now…it's time for me to get my revenge for you foolishly casting me aside! Prepare to die!"

"Oh no you don't!" Older Ash spoke up, showing a look of determination that surprised everyone present.

"What are you—" Ash started to interject, but was cut off by his elder self holding out his right arm.

"Go. You have to go to Bloomsberg."

"But why…?"

"You may be right…there might BE something that YOU, specifically, can do."

"What?! What is it?!"

"That's for you to find out. And Jazz…?"

"What?" Jazz looked concerned for the older version of the person she'd just proclaimed her love for.

"…I never knew. For seven years, you never told me that you loved me…"

"Ash…"

"GO! Talk to him on the way! Let me take care of this…thing!" Older Ash stared down Shadow Wayne with a gaze that would burn a hole in the sturdiest of walls. "Bloomsberg is northwest of here! Get going, NOW!"

"Running away, Ketchum?!" the demon jeered, as Ash and friends ran off in the direction of Bloomsberg. "That's not what heroes do!"

"You're right." Older Ash spoke up suddenly. "THIS is what heroes do!" He then began to glow.

"Is that supposed to frighten me?" Shadow Wayne sneered at the future Ketchum.

"It's going to KILL you. I don't give a damn whether it frightens you or not." Older Ash said, as the glow intensified.

"No, seriously what are you do—"

"SPIRIT BURST!" Older Ash shouted, an enormous barrier of Spirit Energy expanding from him and disintegrating everything in sight, seemingly doing the same to the evil apparition floating before him. It let out a horrified scream as it was engulfed by the pure energy. As the blast faded, Ash stood there for a second, breathing hard.

"…It's up to you now…stop this madness…" he said, collapsing to the ground with a smile on his face, unmoving upon hitting the ground…


	7. Chapter 7

PokeWing Z: Dimension Rifters, the Movie: Chapter 7

A special Dimension Rifters movie by Dustin Dixon, Caleb McGlone, and Rob Volzke

* * *

As night fell, the gang spotted a mostly-intact shelter in which to lay low.

"How much farther is Bloomsberg?" Danny asked. "And why are we making this trip on foot?!"

"You really are an idiot, aren't you?" Wayne interjected. "The Time Anomaly's still at large. If we attract too much attention, that thing will come and flat out END OUR ASSES."

"Guess you're right…but it's weird, isn't it? It's like the thing just…vanished. Like it was never there to begin with…" Wayne suddenly stopped in his tracks. "What'd I say?!"

"Maybe I misjudged you…that was a fairly clever observation, Fenton. Why couldn't we sense it going away? And more specifically…it had plenty of opportunity to kill Ketchum. Why didn't it?"

"I have a feeling…" Riku pondered aloud as they continued to head toward the shelter. "…a feeling that we're mis-identifying it as a thing…as a being."

"What do you mean?" Jenny spoke up, as they finally entered and shut the heavy door behind them.

"What I mean is this…I think it's one of us…or at least…someone who KNOWS Ash."

"Like, one of us from the future?!" Danny chimed in.

"Exactly. I have no idea what's going on here, but I'm willing to bet that Ash's future persona was right, and that the answer to everything is in Bloomsberg."

"Where at IN Bloomsberg, though?" Wayne questioned as he leaned against the nearest wall.

"More than likely? Wherever Jazz is buried."

"IS she buried?" Wayne's eyebrows slanted, as though he were deep in thought. "You saw Ketchum, he was a nutjob. He could have actually been crazy enough not to bury her."

"So you mean her rotting corpse could be wherever she lived?"

"That makes the question not 'what do we do' but 'where do we find Jazz'." Riku stated calmly.

"Look her up in the phone book?" Danny suggested.

"Yeah…phone books in a post-apocalyptic world. GENIUS idea Fenton. Why do you have to go and say something COMPLETELY RETARDED as soon as I compliment you?!" Wayne slapped his forehead with a scowl.

"Hey, back off, Wayne." Jenny jumped to Danny's defense. "At least he's trying to think of a plan! I haven't seen you do much since we got here!"

"And you have?" Wayne remarked coldly. "Ketchum wasn't even phased by your little comment to him. It wasn't until Jazz said she loved him that things even started to look up for ANY of us!"

"Why don't you just GO TO HELL?!" Jenny shouted, storming off to the other side of the shelter.

"Great job, 'hero'." Danny muttered, walking off in the same direction.

"Wonderful. Nice job proving that you've changed. TOTALLY convincing." Riku threw in his two cents. "Maybe she's trying to process everything that just happened all at once…you ever think of that?"

"And I'm not?!" Wayne countered. "Yusuke accepted me as an equal! I almost considered him…a friend…" he trailed off, looking down.

"His death hi—"

"DON'T say he's dead. We don't know he's dead for sure yet."

"He was sprawled about lifeless on the floor of the Fentons' basement. I don't like it anymore than you do, but he's dead."

"He's also gray. You see a lot of gray dead people in your time, Riku?!" Wayne glared over at his former friend.

"No more than one…let's assume he IS alive, though. How do we get him back?"

"I don't know...but maybe that's why Future Ketchum sent us on the way to Bloomsberg."

"Maybe…"

* * *

Meanwhile, in another room, Ash paced about quickly as Jazz tried to talk to him.

"So…about earlier…"

"What about it?"

"What do you mean, 'what about it'?! I told you I'm _in love with you_."

"…Why was I here? How did Wayne miss his fucking demon being alive?! How did **I** miss it?!"

"You could at least PRETEND that you heard me just now!"

"And why can't I sense my future self anymore?!"

"Would you SIT DOWN AND TALK TO ME?!" Jazz threw her arms up in fury. Ash finally stopped, seeming to mumble something to himself before turning around and staring at her coldly.

"What do you want me to do, just break up with Misty and start dating you? Live some sort of dream life with you in Amity Park and never see Mom or my friends back home again?!"

"No, I-" Jazz stammered, stepping back slightly.

"It can't happen like that…I can't hurt Misty…I WON'T hurt Misty. She stuck by me when I died and was there for me when I went to go see the man I THOUGHT was my dad." Ash explained.

"But you do feel something for me…right?" Jazz said, a glimmer of hope in her voice.

"Right now…all I feel is exasperation and anger. Just…leave me alone, Jazz. I need time to think." Ash said, his eyes covered in shadow as he spoke.

"…Time to think, huh…?" Jazz said, hurt evident in her voice. "Fine. You know what? Take all the time you need. All the time in the world!" she said, turning around and storming out of the room.

"…Sorry." he said to himself. "This is the way it has to be…"

* * *

As Jazz ran through the shelter toward the front door, Wayne took note of the fact that she was crying.

"What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it." she said, opening the shelter door.

"So instead you're gonna run off and try to find whatever answer we're looking for. Real smart move there."

"Just shut up. I don't want to hear it." Jazz turned toward Wayne, scowling.

"You won't solve anything on your own. Even if you figure out what's going on, the Time Anomaly will probably be there to wipe you out."

"At this point…"

"DON'T even say you don't care. You're not a suicidal nut like Ketchum."

"What do you mean by that?!"

"Ketchum was willing to DIE to save everyone, but mainly cause he feels guilty."

"And you know this because you have some sort of deep psychological connection with Ash?"

"Not at all. It's because I'm NOT close to him. I can be objective."

"So tell me, Mister Objectivity, why does Ash feel guilty?"

"A better question would be why DOESN'T he feel guilty." Wayne said, pulling out a cigarette, putting it between his lips, and lighting it, taking a drag afterward.

"Those things'll—"

"Kill me, I know. Aimee told me the same thing. So will getting hit by a car. The only difference is I KNOW what kills me. Could we get back to the subject at hand?"

"Right…"

"Look, the point is…you know he's been homesick. He's also been balancing his turmoil over the recent events that have happened…not being able to stop Vexus from hurting Jenny…not being able to keep Yusuke from his alleged death earlier…it's going to keep being bottled up if he's not careful…then it'll come spilling out on the wrong person."

"Like me?"

"No…more like someone's going to get beaten within an inch of their lives. It could be any of us that sets him off the wrong way." Wayne took another drag, and then flicked the ashes from his cigarette, slowly exhaling smoke as he did so.

"…Wayne." Jazz spoke up after a few minutes of silence between the two.

"What?"

"Why did you hate humans?"

"Humans are very…selfish creatures. Not that I'm any different, mind you. I'm ALWAYS on the lookout for number one…or at least, I was."

"And now?"

"Not AS much now…I do see some redeeming qualities to them. If I didn't, I wouldn't have a human girlfriend."

"I guess you're right…tell me, was I selfish to expect Ash to love me back?" Jazz gazed into Wayne's eyes, which seemed to show genuine concern.

"…Maybe just a bit. But you can't help how you feel. We tell ourselves lies all the time to try and rationalize what we do."

"Haha…true…" Jazz sniffled.

"Ash…he's rationalizing too…don't ya think?" Wayne asked out of the blue, tossing down his cigarette and stomping it out before starting to walk away.

"Wayne!" Jazz called out, wiping her eyes as she did so.

"What?"

"…Thanks."

"Yup." was Wayne's simple reply as he walked off, leaving Jazz there to think.


	8. Chapter 8

PokeWing Z: Dimension Rifters, the Movie: Chapter 8

A special Dimension Rifters movie by Dustin Dixon, Caleb McGlone, and Rob Volzke

* * *

As the sun started to rise, Danny walked in to the room Ash had occupied, only to see that it was once again vacant. Quickly, he looked around every other room in the shelter, disturbing the rest of the group as he checked.

"Danny…what the hell, man…?" Riku grumbled as he roused into consciousness.

"Ash is gone!" was Danny's quick response as he bolted toward the front door.

"What?!" Riku called after him.

"So's Jazz!" Danny called back.

"Where the hell did they go?!" Riku shouted.

"Probably to finish this." Wayne muttered, eyes wide. "The two of them don't stand a chance in hell with that thing out there!" As if on cue, they heard a loud, familiar screech.

"The Time Anomaly!" Jenny exclaimed, and as if it were listening, the Time Anomaly appeared in the shelter.

"Come on, we gotta…" she started to say, but was instantly cut off, due to getting hit with the same beam that had hit Yusuke in the basement of Fentonworks. As she hit the ground motionless, she too had turned gray.

"JENNY!" Danny shouted, but before he could rush over to the side of his fallen comrade, the Time Anomaly fired another red beam at him. He tried to dodge out of the way, and for the most part, he had succeeded. However, his right leg had been struck by the beam. He screamed in agony as he fell to the floor.

"Danny!" Riku ran over to him.

"It HURTS…" Danny moaned. "It's like…my leg's going through a paper shredder…"

"Abom…ination…" the Time Anomaly spoke up, and Wayne turned toward it with a look of confusion on his face.

"Abomination?" he questioned. "What did you do to him?! To Jenny and Yusuke?!"

"Between worlds…" it muttered.

"Between worlds…?" Wayne repeated.

"Between past…and present…"

"Wait…they're between our time and this time?!" Riku spoke up.

"MUST NOT HAPPEN!" it shouted angrily as an enormous ball of red energy formed in its now-raised hands.

"Oh shit…we'll never dodge that thing…" Riku said grimly.

"Oh yes we can…" Danny groaned. "On the count of three…I'll fire at it…so you guys…can get through…the door…"

"What about you, Fenton?!" Wayne looked shocked.

"Since we know…that they aren't dead, I should be fine as long as you guys…get to the bottom…of what's going on…" Danny gritted his teeth with every pause, his expression being one of complete misery.

"Fenton, don't do th—" Wayne started, but was cut off by Riku extending his arm in front of him.

"If I don't make it out of this..." Danny started to say, but cut himself off. "No…we'll make it…"

"You really believe in Ketchum…don't you?" Wayne said.

"Yeah…he'll save us all…"

"…I'll make sure he does." Wayne's eyes narrowed in determination.

"Let's go." Riku motioned quickly to the door.

"Now!" Danny shouted, firing at the Time Anomaly and distracting it long enough for Riku and Wayne to escape. As the retaliatory blast zoomed toward him, Danny uttered one final sentence…

"You've already lost, bastard…"

* * *

"Slow down, Ash!" Jazz called out to the Kamoa teenager, who continued to wander the road, seeing a sign saying 'Bloomsberg: 2 miles' and walking faster.

"Why are you following me?!" Ash said angrily. "I pretty much told you last night that I don't want ANYTHING to do with you romantically."

"I don't care." Jazz countered.

"Urgh…" Ash groaned, walking forward. "We CAN'T be anything other than friends, Jazz!"

"I know. I'm willing to accept that."

"You are…?" Ash turned around to face her, a surprised look adorning his face as he did so.

"Yes." Jazz stated calmly. "I may not be your girlfriend, but I don't care. As long as you're alive, and happy, I'm happy."

"…Thanks." Ash said, turning back around, and continuing to wander toward the much-talked about Bloomsberg, which he could see on the horizon. Suddenly, he stopped. In that time, a portal opened, and the Ghost of Time descended upon him.

"Clockwork!" Jazz looked surprised to see him, but was even more surprised when Ash tackled him to the ground in a rage.

"YOU! THIS IS ALL **YOUR FAULT**!" Ash roared."IF YOU HADN'T BROUGHT US HERE…YUSUKE WOULD STILL BE ALIVE!"

"It was necessary. You feel the changes happening in your body, right?" Clockwork explained. "That is the awakening of your powers, Ash."

"SO WHAT?! IT DOESN'T MEAN ANYTHING IF I CAN'T GO BACK AND FIX EVERYTHING THAT WENT WRONG!"

"I see. You found out."

"What, that you LIED?! Said I turned out fine when I actually went INSANE and wiped out humanity?!"

"Yes. Those things."

"Why did you lie to me?!" Ash shook Clockwork furiously.

"Because it was necessary. In order to figure out what's been going on here, you had to believe everything had turned out okay." Clockwork explained calmly. "But you've already figured out everything, haven't you?" he smirked.

"…I might have." Ash said, releasing his grip on Clockwork. The ghost quickly righted himself, and Ash did the same.

"By the way…your friend isn't dead. He's temporally displaced."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean…he's stuck between your time and this time. I can reverse the effects, but it'll send him back to the past with no memories of what happened here. Or you can continue to try to stop the Time Anomaly while your friend suffers excruciating pain."

"He's in pain?"

"Try to imagine being stretched over the planet two thousand five hundred and fifty-six times. The only reason he's not dead is because I've semi-fixed the problem by isolating his distortion to yesterday between the time you got here until the time he was hit by the distortion wave."

"And what about Jenny and Danny?" came Riku's voice, as he and Wayne walked up.

"Danny was hit too…?!" Jazz's expression changed to absolute grief, as she collapsed to her knees. "NO!"

"Relax…he'd barely be in pain right now." Clockwork remained calm.

"That's not the point. She left him to follow me." Ash said, looking down. "…Do it. I don't want any of them to suffer any more because I fucked up. Send them back home. I'm going to WASTE this fucking Time Anomaly ALL OVER THE DAMN FUTURE!" he shouted, fire in his eyes as he clenched his fists together.

"Very well…I'll take care of that and return to Bloomsberg post-haste." Clockwork said, starting to ascend back into the portal. Ash quickly reached out, however, grabbing the ghost by the hand.

"Wait…I get it now." Ash looked at Clockwork with a determination previously unseen ever before in the teen's eyes. "You sent me here to start to develop my powers…THIS is how my future self was able to travel through time!"

"You are very perceptive. Uncharacteristic from what your boss tells me, but I'm glad to see you figured it out, Ash."

"Tell me…how do I stop it, now that I realize WHAT, or rather, WHO, it is?"

"You already know. You'll realize what to do when you get there." And with that, Clockwork floated back up into the portal, and had vanished. As the portal closed, Ash finally smiled again.

"Now I know…why I was here…" Ash said.

"Great, but did you have to put three of our friends through agonizing torment to get to this answer?!" Wayne said angrily. "YOU SON OF A BITCH!" He followed his outburst with a hard right hook to Ash's jaw, completely waylaying the Kamoa teenager.

"Wayne, what the hell?!" Riku shouted.

"You made the ghost kid and the robot girl BOTH worry about you, and you barely bat an eye when they got 'temporally displaced'?! What kind of SICK MOTHERFUCKER are you?!"

"…We have to move." Ash said, ignoring Wayne entirely. "The longer we stay, the more danger we're in."

"DON'T IGNORE ME."

"Okay, let's have an enormous argument in an open wasteland!" Ash suddenly jumped on the offensive. "THAT'LL FIX EVERYTHING, WON'T IT?!"

"SO not the time for this…" Riku muttered, burying his face into his right palm.

"Why don't you shut the fuck up and DO YOUR DAMN JOB?!" Wayne shouted back at Ash.

"Why don't you keep your comments to yourself?!" Ash retorted.

"Why don't you MAKE me, Ketchum?!" Wayne punched his left hand with his right.

"Good idea!" Ash growled in response, mirroring Wayne's movement.

"KNOCK IT OFF!" Jazz shouted.

"You heard the lady; this is neither the time nor the place!" Riku said.

"…" Wayne wordlessly relaxed, prompting Ash to do the same. "I promised Fenton I'd get your worthless ass to Bloomsberg, because he believes in you. Why? I don't have the slightest idea, but just the same…he believed in you enough to sacrifice himself."

"I know…" Ash trailed off. "I won't let it be in vain. Bloomsberg is just ahead."

"Finally, let's see what's in this town…" Riku trailed off, as the four resumed walking. About half an hour later, they arrived in the ruined town of Bloomsberg.

"There you are." came a voice that shocked the bejeezus out of Ash. Standing there in front of the one building that hadn't been demolished was the older Ketchum.

"What the hell happened back there?! Why did I stop sensing you?!" Ash shouted.

"…I tried to die. I failed, obviously." Older Ash stated, his gaze fixated on his past self as he stood there, arms crossed. "I underdid it a bit. I think all I managed to do was send that shadow to the Promised Land. Or Hell. Whichever. Anyway, where are the others?"

"The Time Anomaly got them…" Jazz said, looking down.

"Damn it…it's gotten even more out of control."

"Enough mysteries!" Wayne shouted. "Some good people sacrificed themselves so we could get here and figure things out! So tell us, what is the Time Anomaly?!"

"He knows." Older Ash pointed at his past self. "I can sense it."

"Take us to the room you wanted us to see…I don't know for certain, but I have a very strong hunch." Ash said, no light tone evident at all in his voice.

"Very well…let's go to Room 303." the future Ketchum said, motioning for the four friends to follow him. As they did so, Riku stepped back to talk to Wayne.

"I think I know what Ash knows. Y'know, about this Time Anomaly." he muttered.

"I think we all do. None of us want to come out and say it, though." Wayne responded, looking down.

"Could this thing really be powerful enough to destroy time itself?!" Riku looked horrified. "I mean, its controller couldn't possibly have gotten THAT powerful, right?"

"It temporally displaced three of us. What do you think?!" Wayne's eyes narrowed.

"I think…" Older Ash interjected. "…you should stop assuming and look into this room. We're here."

"The patient name's kind of blurred…" Jazz remarked.

"Believe me…you know this person. They've been controlling everything the Time Anomaly does…kind of. To answer your question, the Time Anomaly is a physical manifestation of this person's guilt and negative feelings. It blinks out of existence when its creator is semi-aware of their predicament…that's why it vanished when the lot of us fought it."

Jazz looked ahead at the door suddenly. "I need to know…" she said, her voice shaky. "I need to know who's doing this…" she then opened the door, and gasped, her eyes widening as far as they could humanly go.

"It…it can't be…it's impossible…" she backed up, tears forming in her eyes as she gazed upon the creator of the Time Anomaly. Swallowing hard, she reached over and grabbed the chart lying on the table in front of the bed in which the comatose person laid…on the chart she only saw two words that mattered to her: the name of the patient, which she read aloud in horror.

"…Fenton, Jasmine."


	9. Chapter 9

PokeWing Z: Dimension Rifters, the Movie: Chapter 9

A special Dimension Rifters movie by Dustin Dixon, Caleb McGlone, and Rob Volzke

* * *

"I knew it…" Ash said, lowering his head. "When you said she died…you didn't actually mean…"

"She's been in a coma for a week now. The actual day is March 26th, 2012. On March 19th, she went into a coma from which the doctors said she'd likely never awaken from." Older Ash explained.

"Wh..." Jazz trailed off, tears running down her face. "Why?! **WHY DID THIS HAPPEN?!**"

"I figured it out the second you protected my past self from me…I even told you why when we parted ways in Amity Park." Older Ash gazed intently into Jazz's eyes. "I'm sorry…perhaps you were trying subtly for the past seven years to tell me you wanted us to be together."

"I did this because…because you rejected me?"

"That already happened!" Ash shouted. "I rejected her in the shelter we stayed at overnight!"

"…You IDIOT!" Older Ash pointed his finger angrily at his past self.

"What?! Look here buddy, I chose my obligation to Misty! She's been by us since we turned ten!"

"Look at what that obligation got us." Older Ash walked over to a window and pulled away the curtains, pointing out at the barren wasteland. "See all that space? There used to be buildings there, with people living in them. There's nothing left. There wasn't enough left over of those people to bury…take a good, hard look, Ash…that's the future you JUST chose. I took the exact same path. Misty DIED. We felt ALONE for FIVE YEARS, just suffering and wallowing in self-pity. Jazz was by our side the ENTIRE time…and I had never realized what she thought of me…"

"…" Ash looked horrified. "No... that can't be... the future is what WE make of it! It's not decided by WHO I choose to be my girlfriend! **IT'S NOT!**"

"Maybe not... but that's irrelevent now. Now the only thing left to do is die so that this future doesn't come to be…" Older Ash said, drawing his Rift Sword.

"No…" Jazz stated unsteadily. "**I **made the Time Anomaly. I'M the one who needs to die."

"What?!" both Ash and his future self exclaimed in shock.

"She's right." Wayne said grimly. "Killing yourself MIGHT erase the existence of the Time Anomaly, Ketchum. But killing Jazz would DEFINITELY erase it."

"We have to decide quickly. I can sense the Time Anomaly's energy again…" Riku said, eyes wide. As soon he finished speaking, the Time Anomaly appeared as if to dick around with him. It looked quite a bit different now, though, or rather, it's head did. Rather than being an amorphous humanoid, Jazz's face now adorned the front of it. It surprised everyone again by speaking in perfect, fluent English.

"Why are you here? The creator sleeps. You are disturbing her sleep."

"She's been trying to wake up, that's why you kept disappearing." Older Ash stated. "I can't allow you to continue to exist!" he shouted. "You're an abomination that should have never been created, and there's only one way to fix that!" he turned to Ash and stabbed him in the stomach with his Rift Sword. Everyone gazed on in horror as time seemed to slow to a complete halt. Ash staggered backward, then collapsed to the floor in a heap, blood pooling from his open wound. Older Ash did the exact same thing. Jazz continued to stare on in horror, sputtering for a few seconds, before letting out a scream.

"Ash! NOOO!" she wailed, running over immediately to the Kamoa teenager's side. "Don't die! PLEASE don't die!" she shook him, and after a few seconds, Wayne spoke up.

"Nothing's happening…which means either he's not dead or his death didn't change anything…"

"Why did you…? You could have killed the creator…!" the Time Anomaly even had an expression of shock on its newly-formed face.

"He'd rather die than cause harm to Jazz." Riku said solemnly. "Because…"

"…Because…" came Ash's voice, as he reached up and grabbed Jazz by her left hand.

"You're alive!" Jazz exclaimed happily, as she used her free hand to wipe away her tears.

"…Because I love you, too. It's not right…I shouldn't feel this way, but…"

"…You can't help how you feel…" Jazz repeated what Wayne had told her the night before in shock. "Did you overhear my conversation with Wayne?!"

"Yeah…yeah I did." Ash admitted. "And I realize…no matter how much I'm trying to do the right thing…I have very strong feelings for you…"

"It's NOT right…I know you have a girlfriend, but still…" Jazz said, tears in her eyes.

"The hatred of time itself…I can feel it…disappearing." the Time Anomaly spoke.

"…" Wayne gazed on, before getting a determined look on his face and walking over to Ash, placing his hands on Ash's wound. As a green aura began to transfer from Wayne onto the open wound, it miraculously closed up.

"Ketchum…Danny believes in you." Wayne quickly explained, surprising Ash with a smile.

"Wayne…"

"This kid was the sole protector of Amity Park before you guys showed up, and he defended it from a ghost ARMY. That's to be admired…if he has faith in you…so do I. You have to live…"

"You…we…have good friends, Ash." the Time Anomaly spoke up.

"Why are you able to talk so plainly now?" Ash asked.

"I'm standing in the same room as the creator. In this room, my powers are unlimited, much like that of the Ash from this time."

"So he could have killed you when fighting you elsewhere, but…"

"He would essentially be killing the creator, since I am an extension of her."

"I knew it." Ash said. "There was a lot of stuff that didn't make sense to me at first. It started coming together when my future self told me he had unlimited power. I knew for a fact you didn't...at least, not outside of this room. The only thing that made sense was that it was someone he cared about deeply who was behind your existence. From there, I figured Jazz."

"You're smarter than Enma gives you credit for."

"Wish I felt like it at times…"

"You're as smart as the creator gave you credit for…" Ash just smiled in response.

"So now it's over…" Riku sighed in relief.

"I sincerely doubt that." came a voice from out of nowhere.

"That voice…!" Ash said, his eyes widening in terror. In the next instant, everyone realized that it was, in fact, NOT over just yet. The true horror had only begun, as Shadow Wayne appeared and quickly went intangible overshadowing the Time Anomaly, who let out a tortured scream as the face of its creator seemed to shrink back into the endless nothingness that constituted the rest of its body. After a few seconds, the laughing face of the hybrid of Shadow Wayne and Dan Phantom sprouted instead, and the new, horrifying being began to charge a Distortion Wave.

"No…fucking…way…" Wayne said, eyes wide at this monstrosity.

"We have to get out of here!" Ash shouted. At that second, Older Ash roused into consciousness...

"Uh…what's going on?" he asked, still seeming to be in a daze. Apparently realizing that he was still alive, he reached down and felt where his wound should have been, only to discover that it was no longer there. "Is this…the afterlife? Is that where I am?"

"Not YET." Shadow Wayne laughed.

"YOU! How did you survive?!"

"It was a simple matter of going intangible. While you didn't kill me, I was quite weakened after that…but…I was surprised to find something out. You never slew my body in this time period!"

"Wait…you have a BODY?!" Ash shouted.

"Of course I do. Did you honestly think I was some soulless puppet sent to haunt Wayne's nightmares for all of eternity?!" the being snorted.

"Who are you…really?!" Older Ash shouted at the thing.

"I'm afraid the time for questions has passed!" the being finished charging his Distortion Wave. "Now who should I hit…?" he glanced at the five people standing before him, using his left hand to pick through the group. "Eeny, meeny, miney, YOU." he finished, pointing at Ash. Suddenly, the Distortion Wave was upon the younger Ketchum before he could even react. However, before it could connect with him, he was shoved out of the way by…

"UGH…!" Wayne slowly dropped to his knees, an agonized expression on his face as he did so.

"WAYNE!" Ash shouted, his eyes widening tremendously. Riku gazed on in sheer horror at his former friend, who was gritting his teeth and wincing as he gave out one last message to Ash…

"I…hated you with everything I could muster…but that time I got drunk at your place and said I respected you…that was true. If anyone can save us…it's you."

"Wayne…!"

"Sorry I couldn't be here…until the end…" and with that, Wayne turned gray and dropped to the ground, leaving Ash looking stunned.

"You impressed me." Shadow Wayne admitted to his former vessel's grayed 'corpse'. "You actually resisted the temporal displacement long enough to give Ketchum a final goodbye…"

"Ash…" Riku said, unsteadily. "You have to leave now…you have to draw him out of here…"

"…Right." Ash spoke up after a minute of blankly staring at Wayne.

"I'm gonna follow Wayne's footsteps here…I'll never forgive myself if I let him be the only one to suffer between us."

"You can't help how you feel." Ash said, smiling again.

"Right…Wayne is…my best friend." Riku admitted, returning the smile.

"On the count of three…"

"One…"

"Two…"

"THREE!" the two of them said in unison as Ash scooped Jazz into his arms and charged out of the open door, while Riku let loose with a double Fist of the Mortal Flame. In the meantime, Older Ash turned to Riku.

"You're a noble man, Riku."

"No more than you, 'hero'." Riku smirked, as the being hit the wall. "Make sure he does what he has to. We won't be able to now…"

"Yeah…" Older Ash said, saluting Riku quickly before running out of the room and following Ash. Riku quickly returned the salute and turned back to the being, who already had a charged Distortion Wave shooting forward from his outstretched hand.

"…Right behind you, Wayne…" he said, as the hallway beyond the room lit up in a bright flash of red, signifying that the five heroes had been reduced to only three now…


	10. Chapter 10

PokeWing Z: Dimension Rifters, the Movie: Chapter 10

A special Dimension Rifters movie by Dustin Dixon, Caleb McGlone, and Rob Volzke

* * *

"What do we do now?!" Jazz said, panic evident in her voice as she and Ash ran as far away from the room as they could.

"…"

"There has to be something! We just have to think…!" Jazz pleaded.

"The only thing I could think of has now become impossible. That…THING got into the Time Anomaly and became a being with limitless power…"

"Did I really create that…?" Jazz wondered aloud.

"…Maybe I did. I don't know if me choosing Misty brought this horrible future, but if I'd been more honest about my feelings for you, maybe this never would have happened…" he trailed off as they arrived at an elevator. Quickly, Jazz reached down and slammed on the up button.

"Up? Why are we going up?" Ash asked, a surprised look on his face.

"You have wings, right? We're going to fly out of here." Jazz instructed. "We wait for Clockwork to return. From there we can figure out a strategy."

"…Yeah, that COULD work…" Ash admitted, as the elevator door opened and he dashed in. He was surprised to be joined by his future self seconds later.

"So what's the plan?" Older Ash asked.

"We wait for Clockwork. Why, you couldn't figure out a plan of your own?"

"We're idiots, remember?"

"Not according to Jazz here." Ash smiled.

"What the hell were you smoking when you thought we weren't idiots?" Older Ash turned to Jazz.

"You're NOT idiots. And don't worry. This plan will work, hopefully." Jazz said.

"…Jazz." Ash spoke up suddenly.

"Yeah?"

"I need…some time…to work things out. If we make it through this, will you wait for me?"

"Of course I will." Jazz smiled. "I waited for seven years, didn't I?"

"…!" Ash set Jazz down gently, a look of absolute shock on his face. "I'm not an idiot…" he said, looking down, then pointing at his future self. "YOU'RE the idiot!"

"What did I do?!"

"It's not what you DID, which is monstrous, by the way. It's more like what you DIDN'T do. While you were out cold, I told Jazz my true feelings. The Time Anomaly realized you loved its creator and mellowed out entirely."

"So…?"

"If we can get Shadow Wayne out of the Time Anomaly, I KNOW how to save the future!"

"How's that?"

"YOU have to tell YOUR Jazz the truth! It won't erase the horrible things you or that thing have done, but it WILL destroy the Time Anomaly!"

"I'm not following…"

"The Time Anomaly is more than an extension of Jazz's feelings…it IS Jazz!"

"Huh?!" Older Ash looked shocked.

"It is Jazz. The Time Anomaly is her spirit! You tell her you love her, and you just might save us all!"

"There's only ONE problem with that…"

"Right…Shadow Wayne. We have to draw him out of her somehow…hopefully that's where Clockwork will come in." Ash explained.

"Here we are." Older Ash said as the elevator came to a stop. "I can sense him coming. I'll draw his fire while you go with Clockwork." Just then the elevator door opened, leading out to the rooftops.

"But…where do we go?" Ash asked.

"Where do you think?" Jazz and Older Ash chimed in simultaneously.

"FentonWorks…"

"More specifically, the FentonWorks in OUR time." Jazz explained. "We can get Mom and Dad's Ghost Gauntlets and rip Shadow Wayne right out of the Time Anomaly!"

"Right! Hurry, Clockwork!" Ash said aloud. At that moment, Shadow Wayne burst through the roof with a loud yell.

"Thought you could run away, huh?! Well, I have one thing to say to that!" Shadow Wayne charged another Distortion Wave almost immediately. "DISTORTION WAVE!" he fired the beam, and Ash, Jazz, and Older Ash barely had managed to get out of its way as it flooded the elevator.

"Who said ANYTHING about running?!" Older Ash smirked. "I'm gonna waste you so hard your GRANDCHILDREN will feel it!"

"Seriously…?! You SUCK at witty retorts." Shadow Wayne commented, before firing another Distortion Wave at the older Ketchum, who vanished, reappearing in front of him and grabbing his right hand, clenching his fist as hard as he could. Ash took this opportunity to scoop Jazz into his arms again, sprout his wings, and fly away from the rooftop.

"Go ahead…do another one! You'll only do YOURSELF in and SAVE the future you're trying to destroy!" Older Ash challenged. "Or do you hate me so much that you'll do it anyway?!"

"It's not YOU I hate…it's WHAT YOU ARE." Shadow Wayne explained. "You never realized that obviously, because I didn't truly wake up in this future! The Kamoa are an abomination. No mere mortal should possess the power of the gods!"

"Are you saying that you're a god?!" Older Ash scowled at the demon, who returned his harsh facial expression with an evil grin.

"I'm not A god…I AM GOD!" he shouted, shaking Older Ash away from him. As the older Kamoa landed, he once again scowled in disgust at the hybrid.

"You're no more of a god than I am…and I'm not a god. Gods can't die. YOU DID."

"No, I didn't. The fact that my body still exists in this world is PROOF that I'll NEVER die."

"Once I'm done with you, I'll find your body and destroy it!"

"Assuming you can defeat me…which I sincerely doubt. You're unwilling to sacrifice your beloved Jasmine for the world! And that's why…I'VE ALREADY WON!" he screeched.

"No, you haven't won. Even when I fade from history…he'll still be here. Even with limited strength…he's stronger than I ever was…than I ever could be. So no, you haven't won…humanity won!"

"Guess we'll see about that!" the demon laughed, charging a green energy blast.

"What, not gonna try to displace me?!" Older Ash laughed. "Or do you realize it's useless to even try?!"

"I WAS going to displace you, but…death is SO much more fitting for you, Kamoa SCUM." As he finished talking, he shot an enormous, wide-spread ecto-blast, in the same style as the Spirit Shotgun. Older Ash simply threw up his right arm in defense, getting knocked back slightly by the blast.

"You really think copying me will KILL me?! Let me show you how to REALLY use a shotgun-style blast!" he raised his right arm, drawing it back as blue energy quickly pooled around his hand. "SHOTGUN!" he shouted, unleashing a mighty blast that knocked back the demon by about ten feet.

"HA! Pathetic! We're on an even playing field now, Ketchum!"

"Not QUITE." Older Ash smirked. "It's true that you have PHENOMENAL power now, BUT…it's not infinite unless you're in close contact with Jazz! And I'm not about to let you get anywhere near her again, so…your number's up, Shadow Wayne!" He finished his sentence by leaping into the air, tackling Shadow Wayne to the ground, and throwing a series of right and left hooks to the demon's face. "Now WHERE do I remember doing this before?! Oh RIGHT, when I was beating that THING you possessed to get here TO DEATH! Do you remember sensing that seven years ago?! DO YOU THINK I WON'T KILL YOU AGAIN?!" The demon either refused to answer or couldn't catch his breath, due to the severe beating Older Ash was giving him.

"Can you…really finish me off?!" he finally spoke up. "I'm sure you've got the power to do so…but killing me will bring about two things…the death of your precious Jazz AND the absolute COLLAPSE of the future!"

"What…?!" Older Ash stopped dead in his tracks, allowing Shadow Wayne to regain his bearing and shove the Kamoa off of him.

"You heard me. Killing me MIGHT seem to be the answer in your screwed up little mind, but think about it… Kensuke still exists in the past, and he must have come back from his hiatus after you wasted this shell of mine. Do you think your past self has ANY chance of stopping HIM right now?!"

"…" Older Ash's eyes widened.

"You can't kill me, because you won't just damn Jazz's soul, you'll damn the ENTIRE UNIVERSE!"

"No…!"

"YES. NOW who's won?!" the demon laughed evilly.

"…We have. I don't HAVE to kill you." Older Ash heroically stood his ground, staring down the demon. "All I have to do is keep you busy."

"You're referring to your past self and Jazz, correct? Even if they do get here, you won't be around to keep them from getting displaced…or in your past self's case, murdered."

"Put your money where your mouth is!" Older Ash disappeared, reappearing behind Shadow Wayne a few seconds later. "Or can you even do that?!" he finished by elbowing the evil creature in the back. Shadow Wayne kneeled over in pain, before sweeping Older Ash's legs out from under him. He stood upright once more and loomed over his mortal enemy, a red ball of energy appearing in his hand again.

"TIME OUT." he said, blasting at the older Kamoa, who countered by vanishing again, then reappearing behind the demon and surprising him by putting him in a headlock.

"What the…?! Let GO." the demon ordered.

"Sorry, can't hear you over how much humanity is KICKING YOUR ASS." Older Ash said in a sing-song voice.

"This is MOST humiliating…" the shadow grumbled, then grinned maliciously as he went intangible, causing Older Ash to fall over. As the Kamoa tried to climb to his feet, he was sent flying by a blast of ectoplasm, then grounded by another.

"All in all? I'd say you FAILED, my dear Ketchum." the demon smirked, shooting Ash in the kneecap with a small Distortion Wave.

"ARRGH-!" the Kamoa gritted his teeth in agony.

"NOTHING can escape the passage of time…and YOURS has just RUN OUT." the shadow laughed, charging another Distortion Wave. As the powerful temporal beam headed his way, Older Ash hung his head with a smile, as he quickly unsheathed another familiar sword and let it drop to the ground. He uttered one last line before being consumed by the Distortion Wave…

"You're the only one left…save our future, Ash…"


	11. Chapter 11

PokeWing Z: Dimension Rifters, the Movie: Chapter 11

A special Dimension Rifters movie by Dustin Dixon, Caleb McGlone, and Rob Volzke

* * *

"Shit…SHIT!" Ash shouted stopping dead in his tracks.

"What is it?"

"He got my future self…that's it…game over…" Ash said, hanging his head, but perking up a second after hearing the voice. It had not belonged to Jazz, but rather a familiar voice coming from Ash's wrist communicator…

"Enma!" Ash shouted in surprise. "Where the HELL have you been?!"

"I could ask you the same question, young man! Do you know just HOW MUCH I've racked up my long distance by simply talking to you as long as I have?! It doesn't really cover calls TO THE FUTURE all that well, Ash! Anyway, what's going on, where's everybody else, and why is the sky all I can see right now?!"

"It's a LONG, LONG story. Short version is this…I fucked up the future and we're all going to DIE."

"Who says that?" Enma said, sounding confident this time. "I just contacted Clockwork, and he filled me in on most of it. He should be joining you any second." As if on cue, Clockwork teleported in through one of his portals, in baby form.

"Ash, I can't even begin to imagine what you're doing flying AWAY from Bloomsberg." he said, shifting to adult form.

"We need your help." Jazz spoke up. "Shadow Wayne is alive, he took over Dan Phantom's body, and now he's overshadowed the Time Anomaly!"

"Shadow Wayne…? Wayne's demon?!" Enma shouted in disbelief. "He's ALIVE?!"

"This is grim…" Clockwork furrowed his brow. "I assume you need me to send you back to the past?"

"That's the idea." Jazz said. "Send us back to my parents' lab and give us enough time to find the Ghost Gauntlets!"

"Then I'll come back, rip that demon out and send him to hell once and for all!" Ash said, his look determined.

"We'd best hurry." Enma chimed in. "I'm picking up a powerful energy source coming this way, and FAST!"

"How'd you do that…?" Ash asked, his left eyebrow raising.

"Bought a future tracking device."

"I…what…how the HELL do you get one of those?!"

"Spirit World Shopping Network. Good thing Ratty was flipping through the channels for once."

"DAMN STRAIGHT, 'FOO!" came Ratty's voice.

"I…just…open the portal, Clockwork." Ash sighed.

"Right. There's something else I'm going to do while you're off gathering those gauntlets." Clockwork said. "Hurry back, I don't know how long this will work…"

"Whatever you're doing, do it fast." Enma instructed, and with that, Ash and Jazz flew into the newly-opened portal, landing in the basement of FentonWorks. The two were glad to see Danny, who looked relieved to see them as well.

"Hey, where the hell have you two been?!" Danny asked. "Riku said he and Wayne were gonna go look for you guys. We thought you'd been kidnapped by Vlad or something!"

"LIL' BUSY RIGHT NOW." Ash said, glancing around frantically as he set Jazz down. "Danny, where are the Ghost Gauntlets?!"

"Well that's a nice how do ya d—"

"LISTEN! If we don't find those things in, let's say, less than five minutes, WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE HORRIBLY!" Ash stressed importantly.

"Whoa…chill out. They're in the drawer under the table with all the beakers. What's going on?!"

Ash raced over to the table and yanked open the drawer, slipping the Ghost Gauntlets on quickly.

"Long story short, Wayne's demon isn't dead. I'll tell you the rest after saving the future!"

"Saving the future…?!"

"Come on, let's go!" Ash shouted, scooping Jazz into his arms once more and flying back into the portal.

"What…the…HELL?! Why doesn't anybody tell me anything?!" Danny threw his arms up in exasperation as the portal closed.

* * *

A bright light penetrated the eyes of the man who had just awoken... dazed, he stretched his arms and legs. Was he alive? Was he dead? he had a strong feeling it was the former as he realized he was still in pain from the temporal displacement he had suffered mere moments ago.

"Son of a…that HURT, god damn it…" Older Ash muttered, than quickly made himself aware of his surroundings. "…How am I still here, and how do I remember what happened?!"

"It's because your past self hasn't been temporally displaced. As long as he remembers these events, so will you." Clockwork explained, as he loomed over the man. "As for how you're still here…"

"You saved me…remind me to thank you when everything gets resolved. Now where is that damned shadow…?!"

"RIGHT HERE." the demon said as he ominously descended upon the two.

"Make sure Ash gets back here ASAP." Older Ash said, looking over at Clockwork.

"Easily taken care of." Clockwork responded, and suddenly a portal appeared in the sky, through which Ash and Jazz soared.

"So what's left of the gang is all here…" Shadow Wayne mused. "And I see you have yourself a pair of Ghost Gauntlets…you honestly think I'll give you a chance to use them?!" he shouted, as Ash set Jazz down once more.

"I don't think you have a say in the matter, demon." Older Ash spat at the abomination that loomed over all of them.

"What he said!" Ash backed up his future self with a fierce determination to right the wrongs that had happened in this timeline over the past seven years.

"Fools…you STILL don't get it, do you?!" the demon screeched. "I'm GOD. You CAN'T defeat me!"

"Let's just TEST that theory, then!" Older Ash shouted, firing a Spirit Gun Double immediately, allowing Ash to charge the demon from underneath.

"For the last time…" the demon said, blocking the shots easily and grabbing Ash by the tips of the Ghost Gauntlets. "…You can't win. Just give up before you make complete ASSES of yourselves and lose the future anyway."

"I won't give up…" Ash said angrily, blue energy surrounding him. "…Not even when things are looking impossible!" he finished by doing a Spirit Kick to the demon, surprising him and sending him flying backwards and loosening his grip on the Kamoa teenager. He followed with a quick Spirit Gun, which, while deflected, gave Ash the time he needed to stab the hybrid in the chest with the Ghost Gauntlets.

"Urk…!" the demon gasped.

"So much for being a god…" Ash smirked.

"Idiot…" the demon laughed at Ash, before sending him flying back into the elevator door with a very loud thud. Jazz raced over to check on him, which was apparently what the demon was waiting for, as he grinned wickedly in response. Time seemed to stop as he fired an ectoplasmic energy bolt, and it struck its mark straight and true, as the bolt pierced Jazz through the heart. Ash regained his bearing in enough time to stare on in absolute terror as the girl he loved fell to the ground, an expression of horror frozen on her face. Unmoving. Unfeeling. Dead.

"**NOOOOOOOOOO!**" he screamed, running over to Jazz, as the very place they were standing on started to become transparent.

"JAZZ! JAZZ, **GET UP**!" he shouted, as tears came to his eyes. He felt for a pulse, though he knew it was futile. Jazz was dead. "No…Jazz, no…! Come back! You can't be…you can't be DEAD!" he said, as the tears began to run freely down his face. He felt like the world had come to an end, and sure enough, around them everything was fading.

"NOW I've won." the demon laughed. "The best part? You'll die with this future, while I live on for et—"

"Shut up…" Ash trailed off, as it began to rain heavily, seeming to wash away all of the surroundings as they faded away. "SHUT UP! Talking all of this crap about being a god…you killed her…you killed my…"

"Your what? Girlfriend? Don't you remember? You already have one! Well, not for long…but—"

"I SAID **SHUT UP!**" Ash shouted. "You're no god. Gods are kind, loving, compassionate…you are NONE of these things."

"I suppose you're going to stand up and kill me now that the Time Anomaly has ceased to exist?" the demon smirked. "You have MAYBE a minute before everything fades, including yourself. Can you REALLY kill me? You'll ruin the future!" Shadow Wayne jeered.

"None of that matters now…" Ash stood up slowly, letting Jazz's body drop back to the fading ground. "The future's already ruined. I don't give a fuck what happens…" he trailed off again, as a golden aura began to flow from him, slowing down time, then completely stopping it.

"What the hell…?!"

"Ash, your powers…!" Even Clockwork looked surprised.

"I don't care anymore…what good were they, Clockwork?! What good were they?!" he shouted, breaking into a sob as he turned to face Clockwork. "I wish…I wish I could just…turn back time!" In that instant, something not even Clockwork could have ever predicted had begun to happen. Ash didn't realize what was going on until he saw the rain start to flow upward, back into the sky.

"Time…time is…" he said, in absolute awe, as he sniffled. "Time is turning…back?! Clockwork, what's…?" he stopped himself when he realized that even Clockwork had been frozen. He watched as time seemed to rewind, just like a VHS or a DVD. He saw himself fly forward to where he was standing now, to before he got thrown back by the beam. Amazingly, everything had become solid again. "Time is…fixing itself!" Ash looked positively flabbergasted. Suddenly, time stopped rewinding. Ash took note, however, that time had not resumed. He looked down at the Ghost Gauntlets in his hand, and over at the demon. He heard its words from the day before once again. "That's not what heroes do!"

"No…" he said to himself, with a determined look on his face as he slowly walked forward and reached for the hybrid. "THIS is what heroes do!" he repeated what his future self had said in response to the very statement that had echoed in his head. "I can do these things…I'm the only one who can!" Ash said, reaching up and stabbing the hybrid in the chest once again, this time succeeding in ripping out the evil demon. As he ripped it out, time finally resumed, with the Ash that HAD been thrown back previously fading out as time resumed. He tossed the seemingly-unconscious shadow to the ground with a very loud thud. Jazz, now alive once more let out a cheer.

"HE DID IT!" she yelled enthusiastically.

"Ash…you…" Clockwork was wide-eyed. "You interfered…"

"How do you know about that?"

"Just because I was frozen doesn't mean I can't sense what's going on. You actually CHANGED HISTORY…without my help!"

"He did?" Older Ash looked confused. "You INTERFERED with the past?!"

"Yeah…" Ash said. "And saved you and this world in the process."

"How…?! I tried to do that countless times myself, with no success…!"

"I don't know…I just…wanted to keep her from dying." he said, motioning over to Jazz.

"This is incredible…" Older Ash said, his eyes wide.

"I don't quite get what's going on…but…" Jazz trailed off, and then screamed in terror as Shadow Wayne leapt up and put Ash in a headlock.

"I told you…I AM GOD, BOY! NOW BE A GOOD LITTLE KAMOA SCUMBAG AND DIE!" he shouted, as he attempted to break Ash's neck. Ash struggled about for a few seconds, scowling, before surprising the demon with an elbow to the face, which caused him to let go. In that time, as the rain started to fall again, Older Ash charged in slow motion toward Shadow Wayne. As he reached him, he let loose with a furious assault of left and right hooks, dazing the demon completely. He jumped back and motioned over to Clockwork.

"Now! SEND HIM BACK NOW!" he roared. Clockwork nodded, and a portal formed overhead, dragging Shadow Wayne into it, screaming at the top of his lungs. Before the portal closed, he could be heard shouting "YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE LAST OF ME! WE'LL MEET AGAIN, KAMOA SCUM! **I SWEAR IT!**"

And with that, the portal closed, finally ending the battle…

"…I'll take care of him once and for all in my time." Ash said to himself, as Jazz ran up and practically threw herself into his arms. He hugged her for all he was worth, smiling warmly.

"You did it, Ash! You saved us!"

"I couldn't have done it without a little help from my esteemed future colleague. Uh…Ash?" he called out for his future self. Older Ash walked up to him after a minute, holding a familiar weapon.

"Is that…the Soul Sword?"

"I figured you might need an extra blade in the past... I won't need it anymore."

"But…don't you need it?"

"Not anymore." Older Ash closed his eyes. "It's time to close this case…forever." he said.

"What do you mean, forever?"

"When I wake up the Time Anomaly…er, when I wake up Jazz…this future will cease to be, now that things have drastically changed from the way they were in MY time."

"What will…happen to you?" Ash's eyes widened.

"The same thing that will happen to this future…I'll cease to be, replaced with another version of us who hasn't committed such horrible atrocities."

"…I'll miss you." Ash admitted.

"You'll miss a murderer?"

"Whatever happened in the past is just that... when it mattered, you stood up and fought for humanity one final time, Ash Ketchum." Ash smiled, holding out his hand for a shake, which Older Ash took after a minute of shared silence between the four still standing there.

"I haven't yet…it's time to do that now…" he trailed off, looking over at the unconscious Time Anomaly. As the rain poured down, he slowly walked toward the spirit of Jazz, as he saw the spirits of his fallen friends smiling at him as he walked forward. To his surprise, he heard Ash and Jazz gasp, realizing that the spirits really were there, and not just in his head. He closed his eyes and scooped up the spirit of Jazz, jumping down into the hole created by Shadow Wayne. Ash scooped Jazz into his arms and jumped down after him.

As Older Ash came into view again, he had already set Jazz's spirit down within her body. He then looked back at Ash.

"I'll fade physically, but I'll always be with you…as a reminder of how NOT to do things."

"…" Ash said nothing, looking over at the future Jazz, who started to cough.

"It's time…Jazz, I…" Older Ash trailed off. "I was an idiot. For the past seven years, I didn't know how you felt for me. I wallowed in my own self-pity and ultimately destroyed your town when I thought I'd lost you…I can't even begin to apologize enough…nothing I can say will EVER take that back, but I've needed to get something off of my chest for seven years…"

"Ooh…" Jazz hugged Ash close as she watched his future self kneel in front of her future self's hospital bed and kiss her right on the lips.

"I…I love you!" he said, and suddenly the room flashed in a bright light, enveloping all who were present…


	12. Chapter 12

PokeWing Z: Dimension Rifters, the Movie: The Final Chapter

A special Dimension Rifters movie by Dustin Dixon, Caleb McGlone, and Rob Volzke

HAHA, weren't expecting a disclaimer here, were you? Well, it's NOT a disclaimer, just a statement. :P Holy shit, I did not expect to write this within a YEAR, much less within a month. I'm very proud of myself for this accomplishment, though. Anyway, let's wrap up this bad boy. FINAL CHAPTER, HO.

* * *

As the light continued to flood the room, Ash could see his entire life up to this point flash before his eyes. He saw events past and present, all in the blink of an eye. Above everything else though, he saw the memory of him lying on this very same floor and professing his love for Jazz. He could feel himself getting pushed back forcefully by the aura that had enveloped them. He reached out for Jazz, who reached back. He tried unsuccessfully to grab her hand, then doubled his efforts, grabbing her and pulling her to him in a tight embrace. Slowly, the aura began to fade, and as Older Ash and Older Jazz came into view again, the latter was starting to wake up finally.

"Uhh…" she moaned, as her eyes slowly fluttered open. "…Ash?"

"It's okay. I'm here. I'm not leaving you again…" Older Ash said, tears forming in his eyes.

"Did you say…?"

"Yes. I love you. I don't want to be without you anymore. I was a complete fool for not realizing how you felt about me. I want to spend however much time we have left together…" Older Ash said.

"…" Older Jazz started to cry silently, then threw her arms around the adult Kamoa. "Oh, Ash! You don't know how long I've waited to hear you say those three words!"

"Oh yes I do…I had a little help realizing it…from an old friend." Older Ash smiled as he gestured over to his younger self, who smiled back, instinctively hugging Jazz closer.

"How can this be…? Why are there two of you?" Older Jazz looked shocked. "Why is my past self standing over there?

'Does my future self not share the memories of the Time Anomaly?' Jazz thought, staring at her future self.

"It's a LONG story…and it'll be painful to hear. But we've got all the time in the world…" Older Ash smiled down at the girl he loved, who returned his smile with a sniffle.

"Long story short…he saved your life, and the lives of everyone on the planet, one final time." Ash smiled warmly, closing his eyes. "Our work here is done. It's time to go home."

"Yes…let's go back…"

"…I hope you turn out better than I ever did." Older Ash smiled, closing his eyes and starting to fade away.

"You got it. Goodbye... hero." Ash said, giving his future self one final smile before he turned around and walked off hand-in-hand with Jazz, with absolutely no doubts or fears concerning the future anymore…

* * *

"WHY are we here, again?" Wayne asked, his eyes narrowed in boredom, as he, Riku, Jenny, Yusuke, Danny, Mac, and Bloo waited in the basement of FentonWorks.

"Because Ash and Jazz went to the damn FUTURE." Danny explained.

"Bullshit, Fenton."

"I'm not kidding. They came down here through a portal, got Dad's Ghost Gauntlets, and went back into the portal. Before they did, Ash said something about saving the future!"

"He may be on to something..." Riku pondered.

"And…? Why are we here? More specifically, why are we HERE in the present when those two are off saving the future?!"

"I have a better question! Why the hell weren't we in the movie until NOW?!" Bloo asked, his eyes widening upon the realization of what he'd done. Suddenly, he was kicked into the nearest wall by Yusuke.

"STOP BREAKING THE GOD DAMN FOURTH WALL! IT STOPPED BEING FUNNY A LONG TIME AGO, FUCKBISCUIT!"

"I'll…take that…into consideration…" Bloo stammered out funnily, dropping to the ground. Mac just shrugged and asked "Was it ever funny?"

"…I…DON'T KNOW." Yusuke said, squinting his eyes in an odd way.

"I'll ask once more…" Wayne trailed off angrily. "Why are we here? I have a date with Aimee in a few hours, and if I have to miss it for that dick Ketchum, someone's getting the living shit pounded out of them!" Suddenly, almost as if to taunt Wayne, a portal opened, and Ash and Jazz fell to the floor. As they stood up, they were swarmed by the rest of their friends, who stared at them, wanting an explanation for everything that had transpired…

"I know you wanna know what happened, but I'll tell all of you later." Ash explained. "Long story short, most of us present had a hand in saving the future."

"Wait…WE were there too?" Jenny asked, scratching her head.

"Yeah. Again, I'll tell you all what happened later. Think I'm gonna go grab a bite to eat."

"So that's it?" Wayne asked angrily. "We all just go on with our daily lives?!"

"Eh, quit your bitchin' and let's go play some video games." Riku said, as he and Wayne walked off.

"Ignore him, we're just glad you guys are all right." Mac said.

("Sayonara wa Iwanai" by Personz)

"More than 'all right'." Jazz said with a sly, knowing grin.

"Huh…? Jenny looked at the two of them. "You mean…you and Jazz?"

"C'mon, Ash, let's go eat." Jazz smiled over at him.

"Sure." Ash returned her smile.

"After all…we have all the time in the world." he said, turning to her, and finally closing the distance between his face and hers in a gentle kiss, which she happily returned. From there, the two of them wandered off, ith no uncertainties about their feelings... whatever the future held, they would try to embrace it with open arms... together.

THE END

Cast list (In order of appearance)

Wayne Williams - Richard Cansino

Botan - Cynthia Cranz

Riku Kurosawa - Cam Clarke

Danny Fenton/Phantom - David Kaufman

Older Ash Ketchum - Jason Gray-Stanford

The Time Anomaly - Brittany Karbowski

Ash Ketchum - Johnny Yong-Bosch

Jazz Fenton - Colleen O' Shaughnessey

Lord Enma - Sean Michael Teague

Clockwork - Crispin Freeman

Jenny Wakeman/XJ9 - Janice Kawaye

Yusuke Urameshi - Justin Cook

Shadow Wayne - Michael O' Reilly

Ratty - Paul Bonanno

Blooregard Q. Kazoo - Keith Ferguson

Mac - Sean Marquette


End file.
